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for a responsible, fair & sustainable food system

Press releases

News releases and comments from GM Freeze are listed below.

For more information, images and interviews, please contact Liz O’Neill on 07811 211 404 or liz[at]gmfreeze.org

Illegal GM petunias show disregard for regulation

Comment (8 May 2017)

Commenting on the news that unauthorised genetically modified petunias have been found for sale in the UK, Liz O’Neill, Director of GM Freeze said today: Regardless of whether or not these particular GM plants pose an immediate threat to people, …
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Regulatory blank cheque for untested GM potatotes? Thirty-three organisations including farmers, scientists, retailers, caterers and environmentalists, have lodged a formal objection to a proposed open air field trial of experimental GM potatoes, describing them as untested, unwanted and unnecessary.

Immediate release (21 Mar 2017)

If granted consent by Defra, the trial will see the experimental potatoes planted in an open field at the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, despite the fact they have not been tested under controlled conditions. Applications for a “deliberate release” of …
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GM wheat will be planted in Hertfordshire

Comment (1 Feb 2017)

Commenting on the news that Rothamsted Research has received consent to go ahead with an open-air trial of GM wheat, Liz O’Neill, Director of umbrella campaign group GM Freeze said: GM Freeze and thirty other organisations submitted a detailed objection …
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EU nations say NO to GM crops but not quite loudly enough European Commission must protect our right and grow and eat GM Free after key EU vote rejects crops but fails to meet qualified majority voting standard

Immediate release (27 Jan 2017)

A key vote today saw European nations oppose the European Commission’s proposal to authorise the first new GM crops for cultivation since 1998, but failed to achieve the necessary majority for the proposal to be formally shelved. [1] EU member …
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Poll shows support for figment of Bayer’s imagination

Comment (5 Nov 2016)

Commenting on a poll commisioned by Bayer, which showed 54% of UK adults agreeing with GM crops “in principle, provided there are no negative consequences related to health or the environment”, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: Unfortunately, the agrochemical …
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New Rothamsted wheat trial misses the point

Comment (4 Nov 2016)

Commenting on news that Rothamsted Research has applied for permission to carry out a field trial of GM wheat plants [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/genetically-modified-organisms-rothamsted-research-16r0802], GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said Rothamsted’s researchers have totally missed the point – why do we want to …
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EU approval of 3 new GM crops shows real face of GM 2.0

Comment (22 Jul 2016)

Commenting on the news that the European Commission has authorised three new GM soyabeans for import, after the European Council (member countries) could not reach a decision, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: We hear constantly about the hypothetical potential …
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The case for regulating Gene Edited crops

Comment (7 Feb 2016)

Commenting for an Observer story considering the forthcoming EU decision about whether or not gene editing techniques give rise to GMOs, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: If this group of genetic engineering techniques escape classification as GM they could …
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Sweet Potato’s 8,000 years of natural selection

Comment (23 Oct 2015)

On 23 October the Guardian published a letter from Professor Anthony Trewavas of Scientific Alliance Scotland promoting the idea that sweet potato’s inclusion of genes naturally inserted by agrobacterium is equivalent to the creation of GM crops. We responded, as …
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