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for a responsible, fair & sustainable food system

Make Brexit mean Better for our food and our farms GM campaign group releases General Election manifesto to protect key safeguards after UK leaves European Union

Immediate release (18 May 2017)

Press contact: Liz O’Neill, liz[at]gmfreeze.org, 07811 211 404

Regulation, labelling and compensation for farmers subjected to GM contamination are all included in a General Election manifesto published today by GM Freeze, the UK umbrella campaign on genetically modified food, crops and patents.

Most UK regulation around food and farming is set in the European Union (EU) so the UK’s vote to leave the EU could have a significant impact on the presence of GM in the UK and consumers’ ability to choose whether or not to eat it.

GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said:

EU regulations have been safeguarding our food and our farms for over 40 years. If we want to protect the integrity of what we grow and what we eat after the UK leaves the EU, we need a Government that will put people, animals and the environment first. We need rigorous regulation of GM crops. We need food labelling that allows people to take control of what they are eating. And we need to protect farmers from contamination.”

The GM Freeze Election 2017 Manifesto sets out what that means in detail. Specific policy demands include regulation of GM crops for cultivation; labelling of food containing GM ingredients and food from GM-fed animals; robust measures to prevent contamination; and a ‘polluter pays’ liability regime to protect businesses impacted by contamination with genetically engineered material of any kind.

Voters who want to let the candidates in their area know how they feel about GM can find details at www.gmfreeze.org/GE2017.

ENDS

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

NOTES TO EDITOR

GM Freeze is the UK umbrella campaign on GM food, crops and patents. GM Freeze is working to create a world in which everyone’s food is produced responsibly, fairly and sustainably.

The full GM Freeze General Election Manifesto can be viewed online at www.gmfreeze.org/manifesto