Real Food
     Genetically Modified Crops
          Our Countryside

Our countryside

Food and farming in the UK face a stark choice.

Do we continue to put profit first?

Or do we adopt practices that safeguard the future of what we eat - and those who provide it?

If we let them - the supermarkets and Government will decide for us.

Pesticides

Food safety and pesticides

In the race to cut production costs in UK farming, important food safety concerns are being forgotten.

Most fruit and vegetables for sale in our shops and supermarkets are grown using pesticides - chemicals that kill pests like insects and weeds. But their widespread usage is causing health problems.

Pesticide residues occur in much of our food. Some of these can bio-accumulate in our bodies or harm our hormone systems

Water is becoming polluted by these doubtful farming practices. Removing pesticides from our drinking water costs us £120m a year.

For more information on pesticides and how we can avoid them (not just in food) see Pesticides Action Network web site.

Genetic Modification

Genetic modification

The main health concern with genetically modified (GM) food is that there's little independent safety testing. Most testing is carried out by the very biotech companies that have the most to gain from results that say GM food is safe.

The irony is that we don't need GM food. The biotech industry says it will feed the world's poor - but leading third world charities - like Christian Aid - dismiss their claims.

What is undoutedly true is that we don't need GM crops in Britain. Our food is good and plentiful. It is also cheap - the cost of food continues to decline as a proportion of people's income. GM crops are being promoted for the benefit of biotech companies and 'agribusiness', not for ordinary people.

What is also true is that governments are in the pocket of big business. The UK government refuses to make business take full legal liability for any mishaps that arise from GM crops. And in some American states it is even illegal to advertise food as GM-free.

The United States has launched a campaign (May 03) through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to try and force Europe to accept GM crops, even though most of its citizens do not want them. A West London FOE spokesperson commented "Decisions about what we eat should be made by us in Europe, not by George Bush and his business cronies in the White House. We hope that Tony Blair's interest in democracy lies not just in forcing a US version of democracy on Iraq. It should extend to giving British people, not George Bush, the choice to safeguard their food, their health and their countryside.".

Barren countryside

Threatened countryside

The countryside is in danger of becoming a wasteland. Devoid of wildlife - empty of people.

Since the second world war nearly half of our ancient woodland has been lost. Farmland bird populations have crashed in the last 25 years - the skylark is down 75%.

Rural life is also suffering. 23,000 farmers and workers lost their jobs in the year 2000. As the same time, basic facilities - like shops, schools and a local doctor - have vanished too.

Our wildlife is threatened by genes spreading from GM crops. New species of 'superweeds' are a real possibility.

Unfair trade

The food chain is becoming increasingly global - and big business is taking control. There are important issues:

• Food safety standards - World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules mean these can be seen as trade barriers and overruled.
• Food miles- Food that could be grown in the UK is shipped in from around the world - causing global climate change due to emission of greenhouse gases
• Supermarket 'armlock' - Farmers often have to accept the prices supermarkets offer, even at loss making levels, or face losing their market
• Chemical dependance - Biotech companies want to control the seed and chemicals markets by producing GM crops that are designed to be used with their own brand of herbicide

Real food for all

Real food for everyone

We believe that everyone should have access to real food that is -

• Fresh
• Affordable
• Locally produced
• Free from pesticide residues
• Providing a fair income to farmers
• Safe from genetically modified ingredients

Links to Other Pages

For more information on these issues, see the leaflet on food and farming (FOE national site: link to 16 page A5 leaflet; 300 kbytes PDF file)
See also national Friends of the Earth web site
Pesticides - see Pesticides Action Network web site.
Food and GM - see Hammersmith & Fulham FOE web site "Local campaigns - Real food"
Real food guide for inner West London - see Hammersmith & Fulham FOE web site "Resources - Local real food"
West London farmers' markets
Allotments
Scientists' view of GM crops

You will not be surprised to know that West London groups do not campaign actively on countryside issues! However, we are all concerned about our food and the wider implications of its production. These groups have campaigns on real food:

• Hammersmith & Fulham FOE
• Hillingdon FOE
• Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster FOE
• Richmond & Twickenham FOE

Acknowledgment: Thanks are due to national FOE for use of their material on this page.

Revised Dec 04