Press releases

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Regulate new GMOs responsibly Civil society organisations tell government

Immediate release (1 Oct 2024)

GM Freeze has today emailed the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner urging him to act with caution in relation to new forms of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Laws have been announced that look set to remove …
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GM Freeze sends open letter to supermarkets calling on them to defend customers’ wishes on ‘precision bred’ organisms GM Freeze urges supermarkets to speak up for their customers to the Food Standards Agency

Immediate release (15 Dec 2023)

GM Freeze has today written to the UK’s leading supermarkets calling on them to respond to the current Food Standards Agency (FSA) consultation on ‘precision bred’ organisms in order to defend their customers’ wishes. The FSA proposes that food and …
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GM Freeze lodges complaint to FSA over timing of consultation on Precision Bred Organism regulation The timing will prohibit participation by consumer-focussed businesses, says campaign group

Immediate release (15 Nov 2023)

GM Freeze has today sent an open letter of complaint to the Food Standards Agency regarding the timing of its consultation on the post-Brexit regulation of ‘precision bred’ organisms (PBOs), claiming it will discriminate against consumer-focussed businesses. The consultation runs …
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No gene for system change GM Freeze comments on Farming Minster's support for genetically engineering farmed animals

Comment (25 Jul 2023)

Commenting on the suggestion, based on Farming Minister Mark Spencer’s evidence to an Environmental Audit Committee hearing, that genetically engineering cattle is a better way to reduce methane emissions than encouraging a reduction in meat consumption, GM Freeze Director Liz …
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Westminster Bill aims to impose new GMOs on UK citizens GM Freeze comments on the publication of the Government's Genetic Technology Bill

Comment (25 May 2022)

Commenting on the  the UK Government’s Genetic Technology Bill – and the news that Environment Minister George Eustice does not believe that genetically modified organisms created with newer GM techniques should be declared on food labels, GM Freeze Director Liz …
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We need system change not GM ketchup GM tomato won’t address the problem of vitamin D deficiency because poor nutrition is a function of poverty and a broken food system

Comment (23 May 2022)

Commenting on news that the John Innes Centre is growing GM tomatoes under new rules that allow experimental GMOs to be released without proper scrutiny, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: The John Innes Centre has chosen to release experimental …
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Time for Government to start listening to ordinary people rather than those with a vested interest GM Freeze responds to Environment Minister's comments in the press about planned Genetic Technology Bill

Comment (20 May 2022)

Commenting on an article in The I, in which Environment Secretary George Eustice boasts that the Genetic Technology Bill will be passed into law this year and will bring unlabelled GMOs to supermarket shelves across the UK by 2023, GM …
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No public support for removal of GM safeguards GM Freeze responds to measures announced in Queen's Speech

Comment (10 May 2022)

Responding to plans for a Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, announced in today’s Queen’s Speech and detailed on page 61 of the Lobby Pack briefing notes, Liz O’Neill, Director of umbrella group GM Freeze said: All genetic technologies can – …
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Genetic engineering needs the safety net of robust regulation GM Freeze responds to Defra plans for a high-tech free-for-all

Comment (29 Sep 2021)

Responding to the announcement that Environment Secretary George Eustice intends to push ahead with plans to remove new GM techniques (often referred to as gene editing) from the scope of GMO regulations, Liz O’Neill, Director of umbrella group GM Freeze …
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Burnt-toast GM wheat gets go-ahead Risky experimental crop to be released in an open field trial

Comment (27 Aug 2021)

Commenting on news that the Government has given the go-ahead to an open field trial of GM “low acrylamide” wheat at Rothamsted Research, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: It’s hard to understand the thinking that leads GM developers to …
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Gene editing consultation pushes Government plan to remove vital safeguards Instead of working with people to understand their concerns, Defra is pushing a high-tech, quick-fix agenda

Comment (7 Jan 2021)

Responding to Environment Minister George Eustice’s speech launching a Defra consultation on plans to de-regulate gene editing, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: People have many concerns about the use of genetic engineering in food and farming so public engagement …
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“Surrogate sires” are just media hype to improve the image of GMOs

Comment (15 Sep 2020)

Commenting on news that scientists from Edinburgh and the United States are using new GMO to develop an alternative to highly successful artificial insemination programmes, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: This is yet another “proof of concept” study being …
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GM groups call on the public: Ask Ministers to reject plans to deregulate genome editing

Immediate release (2 Jul 2020)

Three of the UK’s largest GM campaigns – GM Freeze, Beyond GM and GMWatch – have joined together to oppose an amendment to the Agriculture Bill that would give the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs …
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Changing GMO definition would remove vital safeguards Plans to amend the Agriculture Bill would hand ministers power to deregulate genome editing

Comment (28 May 2020)

It has come to light that a group of MPs, backed by industry lobby groups, plans to table an amendment to the Agriculture Bill paving the way for ministers to alter the definition of a GMO in UK law. The …
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GM regulations are essential safeguards New PM misses the mark on GM in food and farming

Comment (26 Jul 2019)

Commenting on Boris Johnson’s view that we need to be “liberated” from GM regulations, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: If we need to be liberated from anything, it’s the idea that technology can provide quick fixes for all of …
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Gene silencing plans make objectors shout louder Plans for new GM crop trial raise objections from leading environmental and farming organisations

Immediate release (16 Apr 2019)

Thirty-one organisations including some of the UK’s biggest environmental organisations, farmers, scientists, seed distributors and retailers lodged a formal objection today to The Sainsbury Laboratory’s plans for a new open-air field trial of GM potatoes on farms in Suffolk and …
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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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High iron doughnuts and promiscuous brassicas prompt objections to proposed GM field trials

Immediate release (26 Feb 2019)

Thirty-three organisations including farmers, researchers, seed distributors, retailers and environmentalists today lodged formal objections to proposed open-air field trials of biofortified GM wheat and genome edited brassica in Norfolk. Disputing health claims made by researchers at the John Innes Centre …
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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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Campaign groups demand action as Rothamsted Research GM field trial is ruled unlawful GM Freeze and GeneWatch UK write to Michael Gove following key ECJ ruling

Immediate release (25 Jul 2018)

GM Freeze and GeneWatch UK have today written to Environment Secretary Michael Gove, to demand the immediate halt of an unlawful  trial of gene edited plants at Rothamsted Research (1). The trial of genetically modified (GM) Camelina sativa, includes some …
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