London (30.6.09)
– In recent years, some farmer protests notwithstanding (1), the regional
devolved government of Wales has pursued as rigorous an anti-GM policy as
possible under the broad prescript of “GM-free Wales”.
Not, of course, that Wales is free from GM products; Welsh farmers feed their
cattle GM-fodder like those in the rest of the EU and GM products may be on
the shelves in supermarkets. Still, “GM-free” apparently sounds
good if you are trying to make Wales agriculturally unique even at the cost
of missing out on the benefits of going forward like much of the rest of the
world.
Just today, the Elin Jones, the Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, outlined her
government’s position in detail in the course of a radio interview (2).
She said: “We’re talking about a whole range of measures that
… impose strict liability on GM crop growers but also isolation distances
between GM crop growers and other … farmers to prevent cross contamination
… and also a statutory national register with public access so that
any GM crop farmer would need to register their intention to grow GM crops
three months prior to planting. Those restrictions would be all Wales restrictions
but we are proposing in this consultation that we could consider statutory
conservation areas such as national parks or sites of special scientific interest
as having a strict prohibition of GM crop cultivation”
She went on the talk about liability, but not apparently for GM growers: “In
terms of the liability on GM crop growers … we’d be looking at
a voluntary industry funded compensation scheme. We’d look either to
the GM crop grower … or the GM seed company to fund that liability.
What I’m putting in place is the ability for those people who do not
wish to be part of GM agriculture at all to be confident that they can be
protected from GM agriculture.” Scant consideration is to be given to
those who do wish to be a part of GM agriculture like that pioneering farmer
who planted the GM-maize.
But the minister displayed a chink – just a chink – of enlightenment
when she remarked: “If the proof comes that there are very valuable
benefits to GM crops then that’s further down the line and I’d
welcome seeing that proof but we’re not there yet.” That has to
be good but she is already too late: the evidence of benefit is clear for
all to see who want to see it, perhaps even for Wales (3).
Sources:
1. Jonathon Harrington (28.1.09). Why I planted genetically modified maize
on my Welsh farm. The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/28/gm-wales-jonathon-harrington)
2. Jones outlines consultation on GM crop rules. BBC Radio –
Good Morning Wales (30.6.09) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/goodmorningwales)
(The interview is located between 1:35:39 and 1:41:08)
3. Biotech crops making important contributions to sustainable farming.
PG Economics (20.5.09) (http://www.pgeconomics.co.uk/Biotech
crops making important contributions to sustainable farming.htm)
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