Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
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Local MP calls for powers to make East Sussex GM free
Lewes MP, Norman Baker, has written to DEFRA Minister, Ian Pearson MP, calling for East Sussex County Council to be able to decide for themselves whether or not to allow GM crops to be planted in the area.
This call comes as part of the local MP’s response to the government’s consultation on proposals for managing the coexistence of GM, conventional and organic crops in the UK in which he voiced his concerns about the effects of cross-pollination and the damage that this could cause to local conventional and organic farmers trying to grow GM free crops.
The local Lib Dem MP, who is also Chair of the All Party Environment Group, is calling on the Government to:
- Ensure that any measures introduced would aim to limit all GM contamination in organic and conventional crops to just 0.1%
- Increase the proposed separation distances between GM crops and GM free crops, designed to prevent cross pollination, such that they accurately reflect the distance that pollen actually travels
- Ensure that proposed measures to limit contamination are incorporated into legislation and not left to a voluntary industry code of practice
- Put robust guidance in place to ensure that biotechnology companies are liable for both damage resulting from cross-contamination with other farms and wider environmental damage caused by the contamination of wild species and the excessive use of herbicides on GM crops.
Commenting on the issue, Norman Baker said:
"The government has sadly cowed in to the big US GM lobby. Their proposals are poorly thought out and wholly inadequate in preserving freedom of choice for local people. The vast majority of people in this area, and indeed the UK as a whole, have made it abundantly clear that they don’t want GM crops in the UK. Most supermarkets and major food retailers have better understood the strength of public feeling on this issue and have consequently pledged not to stock GM food.
"It is arrogant for the government to put forward these recommendations that endanger both the future of traditional and organic farming in the UK and the right of consumers to choose the food they eat.
In my view, the intent of big US biotech companies should come a very poor second to the need to protect our environment and respect consumer choices. The preservation of our countryside and the quality of the food we eat directly affects all communities and all individuals and this is why I have written to the Minister calling for local authorities such as East Sussex County Council to be given the power to decide for themselves whether their area remains a GM free zone."