Trust tested and found wanting

July 2013

Anti-gm protesters. CC photo by Alan Turner2 on Flickr

As Westminster gears up to 'go it alone' with GM in Europe, do they have the backing of the people they are supposed to represent?

A recent survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency suggested that two thirds of the public consider it important that GM food, GM food ingredients and food from animals fed GM are labelled. Consumers clearly do not trust GM in their food chain.

A poll commissioned by The Grocer magazine suggested that 72% of the public do not trust retailers to tell the truth about GM food, and 60% do not trust Ministers to be honest about GM.

The answer to the above question appears to be NO.

As GM Education commented:

“Trust is hard to win and easy to lose. It is clear that on the subject of GM the UK government and retailers have lost it."

So, why is our Government so keen to develop GM crops which its people will never eat? Perhaps it's because it has identified a very large overseas market which hasn't yet learned distrust. Check out WESTMINSTER ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET FOR GM- July 2013

If you want a few reasons to distrust GM, check out the Institute of Science in Society's new Report, Ban GMOs Now (published 24 June 2013) at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Ban_GMOs_Now.php

"This is a dangerous situation for the future of food and farming, one that needs to be reversed as quickly as possible, particularly as GM agriculture is failing on all counts. That can only be achieved by a ban on GMOs, an action already taken by countries and local communities around the world. We need to join forces with them, to put an end to the GM corporate empire." (Ban GMOs Now)

SOURCES:

• UK COULD GO IT ALONE ON GM CROPS - GM-free Scotland, March 2013
• Just Label It: Most UK Consumers Do Not Trust Ministers or Retailers to Tell the Truth About GM, www.gmeducation.org, 25.04.13