GM free Ireland

The Irish Government will ban the cultivation of all GM crops and introduce a voluntary GM-free label for food, including meat, poultry, eggs, fish, crustaceans, and dairy produce made without the use of GM animal feed. The policy was adopted as part of the Renewed Programme for Government agreed between the two coalition partners, the centre-right Fianna Faíl and the Green Party, after the latter have voted to support it, GM-Free Ireland reports. The agreement specifies that the Government will declare the Republic of Ireland a GM-Free Zone, free from the cultivation of all GM plants. The official text also states to optimise Ireland’s competitive advantage as a GM-Free country, a voluntary GM-Free logo will be introduced for use in all relevant product labelling and advertising, similar to a scheme recently introduced in Germany.

The President of the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers Association, Malcolm Thompson, said he was delighted by the announcement, adding that the  Government’s new GM-free policy was the fulfillment of what they at ICSA had held for the last five years. He continued that he very much looked forward to its full implementation. Michael O’Callaghan of GM-free Ireland said the policy signaled a new dawn for Irish farmers and food producers: “The WTO’s economic globalisation agenda has forced most Irish farmers to enter an unwinnable race to the bottom for low quality GM-fed meat and dairy produce, in competition with countries like the USA, Argentina and Brazil which can easily out-compete us with their highly subsidised GM crop monocultures, cheap fossil fuel, extensive use of toxic agrochemicals that are not up to EU standards, and underpaid migrant farm labour.
 

“Meanwhile, hundreds of European food brands, retailers and regions now offer GM-free beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, fish and dairy produce as part of their Food Safety, Quality Agriculture, Biodiversity, Fair Trade, Sustainable Development and Climate Change strategies. Thousands of brands in the USA are doing likewise. Without a GM-free label to distinguish our produce, Irish food is being excluded from this global market. The Irish Government plan to ban GM crops and to provide a voluntary GM-fee label for qualifying animal produce makes obvious business sense for our agri-food and eco-tourism sectors."

GM-free Ireland