1.PRINCE CHARLES'S GM CRITICISM WELCOMED BY FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
2.GM Freeze Welcome Prince Charles's Comments on GM Crops

NOTE: This is a big story in the UK today. Prince Charles' comments made the front page of the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles112.xml
The comments are also worth looking at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles112.xml
Full interview inside http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/08/13/ftcharles113.xml
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1.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.xml

3. UN International Assessment of Agriculture (IAASTD), http://www.agassessment.org/
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2.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 Charles’s comments will enable the wider social, economic, cultural and political issues to get the attention they deserve”.

ENDS