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
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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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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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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Comment (19 Dec 2016)
Commenting on a new study showing unexpected differences between GM and non-GM maize, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: This study shows that the impact of changing an organism’s genome in the lab goes way beyond intended effects. Genetics is …
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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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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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Comment (1 Nov 2016)
Waitrose’s announcement that its pork products will now be fed non-GM European soya comes just ten days after umbrella group GM Freeze launched a campaign highlighting the use of GM animal feed by UK supermarkets (www.feedmethetruth.org). Waitrose already scores better …
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Immediate release (22 Oct 2016)
A damning new assessment of the UK’s top ten supermarkets demonstrated today just how far GM crops have crept unnoticed into the UK food chain. Launching the Feed me the Truth campaign [1], umbrella group GM Freeze ranked supermarkets against …
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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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Immediate release (14 Jul 2016)
Over 80 organisations, including GM Freeze, have signed a letter to David Davis and Theresa May to stress the important implications of Brexit on food and farming. With many of the UK’s food and farming policies and subsidies being defined …
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Immediate release (25 Apr 2016)
Farming minster George Eustice has granted consent for a new trial of genetically modified (GM) oil seed, despite new research showing that consumption of the omega 3 oils made by the GM plants can seriously harm butterflies. The Canadian study …
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Immediate release (21 Mar 2016)
A coalition of farmers, scientists, campaigners and charities has come together to urge the Government to stop the planting of genetically modified (GM) potatoes and “fishy” oil seed plants in the UK this spring. Objecting to open air GM trial …
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Blog (26 Feb 2016)
The European Commission is poised to issue a crucial decision on whether or not plants created with a range of new genetic engineering techniques should be classified as genetically modified (GM). Due in March, the ruling could mean the difference …
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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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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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Comment (20 Oct 2015)
On 10 October, The Grocer published (behind a paywall) a feature The trouble with GM. We responded with the letter below. James Halliwell bravely entered the lion’s den to summarise some of the key points in the super-heated debate about …
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Immediate release (25 Jun 2015)
Campaign group GM Freeze cites the failure of Rothamsted Research’s genetically modified (GM) wheat field trial, published in the journal Scientific Reports this week, as clear evidence of the folly of focusing public resources on the development and promotion of …
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Comment (9 Jun 2015)
Responding to BBC One’s Panorama programme GM Food – Cultivating Fear (broadcast on Monday 8 June and available to view in the on BBC iplayer), GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill explains why viewers may have been misled. The Panorama programme focused …
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Comment (21 Mar 2015)
Commenting on the news that Domino’s is selling GM pizza bases, and Waitrose has started stocking GM Hershey’s bars GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said: Imported American sweets are bad enough but if Domino’s are making GM pizza bases here …
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Comment (26 Feb 2015)
Commenting on the Science and Technololgy Committee’s report Advanced genetic techniques for crop improvement: regulation, risk and precaution, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill, who gave evidence to the committee and is quoted in the report said: The Science and Technology …
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