Publication date: 21 March 2005

Summary:

As European Commissioners gather to debate the future of Genetically Modified (GM) crops and food in Brussels, environment and consumer representatives have exposed an EC Recommendation, guiding member states on GM crops, as legally and fundamentally flawed. The NGOs are calling for the Recommendation to be withdrawn and are calling for an urgent meeting to discuss its legal status and content.

Paul Lasok QC, a leading European Lawyer, was asked by Greenpeace, Which? (the UK consumers’ association), Friends of the Earth, The Soil Association,, the Five Year Freeze Campaign and GeneWatch UK to advise on the EC Recommendation on the growing of GM crops alongside non GM and organic crops (co-existence) [1].

The environmental costs of Genetic Engineering

Publication date: March 2000

Summary
History has shown that the destructive consequences of new technologies may not become apparent for many years. When Du Pont started to produce CFCs in 1931, for instance, they were believed to be totally harmless. It was not until 1975 that their potential to destroy the ozone layer was first recognised and it took a further ten years for this to receive scientific acknowledgment. 

Publication date: March 2000

Summary
Genetic scientists are altering life itself - artificially modifying genes to produce plants and animals which could never have evolved naturally. The products of their labours are already present in the food we eat and the fields around us, even though little is known about the long term effects on human health and the environment.

The risks are enormous and the consequences potentially catastrophic, and yet the new technology is being rapidly introduced into every aspect of our lives with little regard for safety.