Writings: Submissions by Ciarán Cuffe / Green Party

The EPA                                                                20 February 2006

P.O. Box 3000

Johnstown Castle Estate

Co. Wexford

Re: GMO Potato Trials, Arodstown, Summerhill, Co. Meath

Please use our ref: 1530

Your ref: (Reference No B/IE/06/01)

Dear Sir or Madam,

1) An independent risk assessment of the proposed GMO field experiment conducted by Prof. Joe Cummins found that there is clear risk of cross-contamination of Irish potatoes.

2) It appears from the applicant’s Environmental Risk Assessment that no environmental or health impact studies are planned.

3) In the applicant’s Environmental Risk Assessment (pg. 20) the isolation distance is given as 20 meters to cultivated potatoes. This does not seem adequate.

4) The applicant’s chapter entitled ‘INFORMATION ON CONTROL, MONITORING, POST-RELEASE AND WASTE TREATMENT PLANS’ (pgs. 21-23) is particularly weak as it fails to outline what day-to-day measures will be taken to ensure that of cross-contamination of Irish potatoes will not occur.

5) I would also like to draw you attention to the fact that a number of leading farming groups and farming publications have publicly opposed this field experiment on the basis of the risk it poses to Irish agriculture and the Irish food industry. As the editorial of the Irish Farmers’ Monthly (February 2006) put it:

European consumers, rightly or wrongly, are extremely wary of GM foods. A huge part of Ireland's success as an exporting food country is the image Bord Bia has built to make Ireland a clean, green country. It's slogan is 'Ireland - the Food Island'.

6) While the Green Party remains normatively committed to a GM-Free Ireland, we also believe that for now there is amble scientific evidence* to suggest that the Precautionary Principle should be applied to GM crops until more is known about the effect of GM products and on the on coexistence between GM and non-GM crops.

*For example, please see Submission of BMA to Health and Community Care Committee on the Health Impact of GM Crop Trials, available on: http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/gmcrops

Defra’s report to UK Government's Scientific Steering Committee available on: www.defra.gov.uk/news/2003/031013b.htm

Sincerely,

www.Ciarán Cuffe.com