GM. It’s a bit of an experiment – and that’s the problem. No-one really knows exactly how damaging or long lasting this kind of tampering with the genetic make-up of plants really is – both to our health – and the environment.

The research simply isn’t conclusive. Surely the science should be absolute before allowing GM seeds into the food chain? Because once there – they’re nigh on impossible to remove.

But GM seeds already dominate the US corn, cotton and soya market; the Indian cotton market and the South American soya bean crop.

It’s a tricky issue to understand, so Debate Your Plate has gathered together a mix of stories, and facts for you to make your own mind up – check out our GM Food File if you want to know more.

Sign the petition

Avaaz is an on-line campaigning organisation who have recently created a petition for a total EU ban on GM foods until further research. The exciting thing is, a new EU initiative allows one million citizens to make official requests. Sign the petition.

Avaaz writes…

GM Food: Facts not Crops

The European Commission has just approved growing genetically modified crops for the first time in 12 years, putting the GM lobby’s profits over public concerns — 60% of Europeans feel we need more information before growing foods that could threaten our health and environment.

Join the campaign

GM food is not labelled at all in the US, while in the EU, GM may be officially banned, but GM soya can be used to feed cattle and other animals – and this is not labelled.

Essentially, this means GM has already entered the food chain here. Consumers have no idea that dairy or meat products, could be contaminated with GM, since there is no clear label saying so.

The campaign group GM Freeze are asking supermarkets to label products that have used GM animal feed. They’re calling on the government to halt all imports of GM crops or food.

GM Freeze writes…

The hidden GM in your trolley.

When Genetically Modified (GM) food hit supermarket shelves, people rejected it. Today it is hard to find food with GM ingredients – shops won’t sell what people won’t buy. There is a hidden exception: milk, cheese, meat and eggs from animals reared on GM feed do not legally need a GM label.

GM Freeze is calling on the Government for a Freeze on:

The growing of genetically modified plants and the production of genetically modified farm animals for any commercial purpose.

Imports of genetically modified foods, plants, farm crops and farm animals.

The patenting of genetic resources for food and farm crops.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace believes the introduction of GM crops has been a complete disaster, creating potential problems for our health and a threat to the biodiversity of the planet. Their development has not been to feed the world but to increase the power of the bio-tech companies. Subscribe to their on-going campaign.

Greenpeace writes…

We are told that GM crops will help feed the world’s poor but according to the United Nations, we already produce more than enough food to satisfy everyone. And even though consumers have rejected GM foods outright, the biotech companies and the governments that support them are still trying to force their inventions on us, purely for commercial gain.

But the long term effects of GM crops have not been properly researched and, by cross-pollinating with non-GM crops and wild plants, they replicate themselves and contaminate the environment with genetic pollution that is impossible to clean up.

Genetically modified organisms shouldn’t be released into the environment, full stop. Our understanding of their impact on the environment is imperfect to say the least and they have the potential to disrupt natural populations as well as pose a risk to our own health if they enter the food chain.
Yet biotech companies and the governments supporting them are still trying to force this technology on us. You can help us to prevent the spread of GM organisms – take action now.

Photo: Thanks to Boliston on Flickr.

Find out more

Read:

Take a look at the future according to Monsanto on Debate Your Plate TV.

Global Research story on the Monsanto whistle blower.

Friends of the Earth report on GM and Monsanto

The latest research from a Russian scientific study linking GM to sterility in the Huffington Post.

UK professor resigns from Government food watchdog over concerns that tax payer’s money is used for pro GM propaganda in The Telegraph.

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