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Crucial GM report delayed: urgent petition launched

Five weeks after a meeting of Oxfordshire’s Councillors ordered an urgent investigation into legal ways of making Oxfordshire GM-Free; the Council has made no progress. Indeed the Council’s Executive members are now saying that the report back won’t happen until February’s Executive meeting, more than three months after Council voted for the "urgent" report.  The delay may mean the Council loses the right to object to the growing of GM crops in Oxfordshire. Oxford Friends of the Earth have launched an urgent petition to demand faster action.

The decision by members of the Executive on 9 December to delay the report won’t allow Councillors the opportunity to consider what action to take at their next full Council meeting on 13 January 2004. This is two months after their previous meeting on 4 November 2003 when the "urgent investigation" was ordered [full text of motion]. No oral or written report was given to the Executive meeting on 9 December by the Solicitor to the County Council.

The Council can use the powers at its disposal under article 19 of the GMO Deliberate Release Directive 2001/18/EC to object to the commercial growing of a GM crop and secure an exemption in their area. Already an application for the marketing of a GM oil seed rape for commercial growing has been made to the EU. Presently the application has been stopped by one of the member states while further information is provided. Once this request is satisfied then the application process will restart. When this happens local authorities will have a short period of time to object and secure an exemption from the commercial growing of the GM oil seed rape in their geographic area. Without a 
decision by Oxfordshire County Council to use the legislation then no objection will be made to the growing of the GM crop in Oxfordshire and planting could go ahead.

Andrew Wood, Food Campaigner for Oxford Friends of the Earth said

“Councillors passed a motion in November for an urgent report to be made of the legal powers to keep Oxfordshire GM-Free. But the Executive’s decision to delay the report until February will frustrate the Council and it may mean the window of opportunity closes on keeping GM crops out of the County. The Executive shouldn’t play Russian roulette with our food nor the livelihoods of Oxfordshire’s farmers and growers who say they don’t want GM crops grown in the County.”

Oxford Friends of the Earth has launched a petition to demand that the Council sticks to its promise and brings forward, to the Council meeting on 13 January, full proposals on how the commercial growing of GM crops can be banned within Oxfordshire. The petition will be presented to the next meeting of the Council Executive on Tuesday 23 December. About 200 signatures were gathered at the OxFoE stall at the Green Fair on 13 December. If you would like to add your own, please download and print the petition form (PDF), get as many signatures as you can, and return it to Andrew Wood at the address on the form by 22 December.

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