UK Government and GMO industry collusion exposed (9th June 2014) Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal how foreign GMO companies have muscled their way into government departments and have developed a cosy relationship with ministers. They expose government collusion with the GMO industry to promote GMO technology, agree PR messages and blacklist critical journalists. The policy research group, GeneWatch UK have obtained and released a dossier of correspondence and meetings between the UK Government and the GM industry. GeneWatch UK director, Dr Helen Wallace, said that Ministers and officials are not acting in the public interest but colluding with the industry to push ahead with commercial plantings of RoundUp Ready GM crops and undermine EU safety laws. The released documents show how since taking office Environment Minister, Owen Paterson and his ministers have been in cahoots with the industry to sidestep public and EU opposition to GMOs. On the 12th June Paterson and other EU Environment Ministers will consider a proposal to “renationalise” decisions on GMO crop plantings; allowing pro-GM countries to go ahead and, under limited circumstances, others to ban them. Science Minister David Willetts, and the Department for Business (BIS) communications team, have also been active in promoting GMOs on behalf of industry. They have made GMO technology a central part of the Governments Agri-Tech Strategy and created a favourable inside track to give industry access to taxpayer R&D funds and facilities. A catalogue of collusion The documents: Highlight the extent to which the GM industrys role in Government policy is being kept hidden from the public; Reveal how foreign multinational companies are pivotal players in the Governments PR strategy on GMO crops; Show that taxpayers money is being spent on PR for the GMO industry rather than delivering better food and farming; Expose the blacklisting of critical journalists and the cherry-picking of scientists to industry PR; Reveal government promises of research funds tied to public-private partnerships with GMO companies such as Syngenta; Suggest close co-operation with soya importers and feed manufacturers to pressure retailers to allow meat and dairy suppliers to use GMO soya for animal feed; Show that the government has encouraged its supposedly independent advisors, ACRE, to develop proposals to weaken GMO crop regulation, along lines proposed by Syngenta. Her Majesty’s Government for the GMO Industry GeneWatch UK made its first request for this information in April 2013 and, even now, is still having to fight for a complete release of material. The Documents obtained reveal the shockingly wide extent of the Government’s collusion with the GMO industry, as well as its scandalous attempts to hide this information by delaying responses and withholding documents. All of the documents and a briefing summarising the findings are available here genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/FoI_summary_May14.pdf These documents reveal yet again that lack of transparency, collusion, deceit, arrogance and a determination to thwart citizens’ wishes in favour of corporate interests are the hallmarks of GMO technology. Lawrence Woodward Sources: genewatch.org/article.shtml?als[cid]=574133&als[itemid]=574495 genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/FoI_summary_May14.pdf
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 06:38:00 +0000
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