Action Briefing Jun 2003 - Jul 2003
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

GM: who decides what we eat?

The GM Free Britain campaign is steaming ahead. The region has just scored a huge success with Warwickshire’s unanimous adoption of Friends of the Earth’s GM-Free resolution, and the Government consultation, 'GM Nation?', started its tour of the country in Birmingham on June 3rd.

On an international scale, developments are also “getting interesting”. The US has finally put in a formal complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about the European Union’s moratorium on importing and growing GM crops. This has been expected for a long time, and while it may seem like a blow, it will undoubtedly raise important questions about the role of the WTO, and the opportunity that it provides for powerful nations like the US to undermine the human rights of other nations to democracy and freedom of choice.

You can help with the campaign against the US decision by visiting www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/global_trade/press_for_change/email_us_embassy/ and emailing the US ambassador in London, expressing your dismay at the way the US is riding roughshod over our freedom to choose what we eat.

At a local level Birmingham City Council doesn’t seem as keen as other local authorities to adopt the GM Free resolution, but we are making progress. We held a successful action in the run up to the local elections in Sparkhill and Sparkbrook, attracting support from 18 candidates and getting some rather fetching pics of the Liberal Democrat candidates supporting the campaign!

Now that the election has shaken up the City Council, we are working on engaging all the parties with the GM-Free issue. Birmingham City Council already has a policy of non-GM sourcing for school and hospital meals which is a strong starting point. The Friends of the Earth-drafted resolution would not only make this stronger but it would also send an unequivocal message to DEFRA and the EU that Birmingham is prepared to use all legal means available to preserve the health, livelihoods and biodiversity of the city and wider region. This issue has become all the more important now that Warwickshire County Council has gone “GM Free”.

See our GM campaign page for more info.

Jenny Thatcher