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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

Pick-and-mix GM crop plans are playing games with regulations Plans for new GM crop trials raise objections from leading environmental and farming organisations

Immediate release (21 Mar 2019)

Thirty-five organisations including some of the UK’s biggest environmental organisations, farmers, scientists, seed distributors and retailers yesterday lodged a formal objection to plans for a new open-air field trial of GM camelina plants at Rothamsted Research’s farms in Hertfordshire and …
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New petition launched to protect GM food labels

Immediate release (2 Oct 2018)

A new petition, aiming to protect consumers’ right to make an informed choice about their food choices, was launched online this week. Presented jointly by campaign groups GM Freeze and Beyond GM , the Don’t Hide What’s Inside petition calls …
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ECJ rules in favour of tough regulation for new GM techniques

Comment (25 Jul 2018)

UK umbrella campaign GM Freeze today welcomed a European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision to ensure proper regulation of controversial new genetic engineering techniques. Supporting the position taken by environmental campaigners, the judgement states that organisms obtained by mutagenesis are …
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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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