1.More on Prince's coments
2.Prince in tune with public and independent scientific opinion
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1.More on Prince's coments
QUOTE: "”¦we [will] end up with millions of small farmers all over the world being driven off their land into unsustainable, unmanageable, degraded and dysfunctional conurbations of unmentionable awfulness." - Prince Charles commenting on the future for small farmers if we stick with GM crops, Daily Telegraph, 13 August 2008.
SUMMARY OF PRINCE'S COMMENTS: Prince Charles has warned that GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster. In an outspoken intervention on the issue of GM food, the Prince said that multinational companies were conducting a "gigantic experiment" with "nature and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong". The Prince went on to say "What we should be talking about is food security not food production - that is what matters”¦”.
Daily Telegraph (13 Aug, front page)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles112.x ml
Their readers' comments are well worth looking at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles112.x ml
Full text of the interview with the Prince, conducted by Jeff Randall - the Telegraph's editor-at-large http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/08/13/ftcharles113 .xml
See a video of the interview with the Prince online
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/telegraphtv/tvplayer/?ID=News&bcpid=1452232298&bclid=1452257940&bctid=1726720198
TODAY COVERAGE: BBC Radio 4's Today programme 13 August
7.09am: The Prince of Wales has said GM crops could cause the world's worst environmental disaster. The Daily Telegraph's editor-at-large reveals the depth of Prince Charles's fears.
8.32am: Prince Charles's views on GM have created a stir. Patrick Holden, the director of the Soil Association and Lord Haskins, the Blairite pro-GM former chairman of Northern Foods, discuss the Prince's views.
BBC Radio 4, listen again (13 Aug)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7557000/7557753.stm
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2.Prince of Wales in tune with public and independent scientific opinion on GM
Soil Association
PRESS RELEASE, 08/13/2008
The Prince of Wales's views not only reflect the views of 85% of the British public who opposed the commercial growing of GM crops in the UK, but also of an increasing body of independent scientists who question GM company PR claims that GM crops are the answer to world hunger. [1]
Robin Maynard, Soil Association Campaigns Director said: "As so often, the Prince of Wales's views are in tune with public opinion. In questioning the value of GM crops for poor, small-scale farmers in developing countries, his comments also chime with the recent international agricultural assessment by 400 scientists from around the world, which questioned whether GM crops offered any solutions to global poverty, hunger or climate change.
"Even the gung-ho GM US Department of Agriculture accepts that 'currently available GM crops do not increase the yield potential', only PR firms working for the GM industry claim otherwise.[2]
"Agribiz owned and patented GM seeds that only grow 'true' for one season and which need large inputs of chemical fertilisers and pesticides will not deliver greater global food security. They were not designed to meet the needs of poor farmers in developing countries, but to maintain the profits of the vast multinational companies who make both the GM seeds and the chemicals used on them. Prince Charles' previous pithy summary of GM crops, 'as new uses for old herbicides' was spot-on."
[Ends]
For more information please contact:
Clio Turton, senior press officer, 0117 914 2448 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Notes to Editors:
[1] In April of this year, the report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) chaired by Defra's Chief Scientist, Professor Bob Watson, concluded that GM crop yields were 'highly variable' and the application of GM outside the lab 'contentious'. In contrast it recommended 'agroecological systems', of which organic farming is a practical, proven example.
IAASTD report, published 15 April 2008, London
[2] US Department of Agriculture acknowledges that:
"Currently available GM crops do not increase the yield potential of a hybrid variety. In fact, yield may even decrease if the varieties used to carry the herbicide tolerant or insect-resistant genes are not the highest yielding cultivars.”
Fernandez-Cornejo, J. and Caswell, 2006
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2.PRINCE CHARLES'S GM CRITICISM WELCOMED BY FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
For immediate release, 13 August 2008
Commenting on Prince Charles's concerns over the impacts of GM crops on the environment and farmers, expressed today, Friends of the Earth's Campaign Director Mike Childs said:
"Prince Charles has hit the nail on the head about the damaging false solution that GM crops present.
"GM crops will not solve the food crisis - and forging ahead with an industrialised farming system will continue to fail people and the environment around the world.
"Global political effort must be channelled into securing long lasting, green farming solutions that put people, not corporations, at their heart - and the UK Government must look at the evidence before falling for GM industry hype."
Earlier this year a UN International Assessment of Agriculture (IAASTD), carried out by 400 scientists and endorsed by 60 countries found no conclusive evidence that GM crops increase crop yields. It concluded that although the green revolution had increased crop yields, this had come at an unacceptable environmental and social cost, degrading soils, contributing to climate change and failing the world’s poor. The biotechnology industry pulled out of the process when it became clear that the report would not endorse GM crops. The report stated that “business as usual is not an option” and that science and technology must be combined with traditional knowledge, working with communities on localised farming solutions.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. Friends of the Earth’s briefing on the food crisis:
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/world_leaders_warned_off_p_02062008 .html
2. Prince Charles's comments: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles112.x ml
3. UN International Assessment of Agriculture (IAASTD), http://www.agassessment.org/
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3.GM Freeze Welcome Prince Charles's Comments on GM Crops
PRESS RELEASE 13th August 2008
Immediate Release
GM Freeze has welcomed Prince Charles's comments on the risks of widespread introduction of GM crops to the environment.
The group supports his view that large scale production of GM crops will not be sustainable and will lead to the destruction of rural communities.
Commenting Pete Riley of GM Freeze said
“Prince Charles's comments are a welcome contribution to the ongoing debate about GM crops around the world. Some of the strongest opposition comes from small and family farmers in South America and India who are already experiencing the social, economic and cultural impacts of GM crop monocultures driven forward by global corporations.
"The Prince has also focused on the environmental impacts of GM crops especially on the soil. Very little research is available on such impacts in South America where there is enormous pressure on farmers to adopt GM crops. In this country the government decided to ban four GM crops because of their impact on wildlife. Until very recently, research has ignored the impacts on soil and consequently our knowledge of how GM crops will impact on life below ground is very limited.
"The debate about GM crops is not only about science and the Prince's comments will enable the wider social, economic, cultural and political issues to get the attention they deserve".
ENDS