This may seem like old news but I've been waiting for an update, waiting to hear that the corporation that owns the patent on the seeds that this farmer used was going to sue him. After all we know the biotech companies are very litigious and are happy to sue even those using their seeds through accidental contamination.But I'm still waiting. For those of you who don't know what on earth I am talking about, I am referring to the recent case of the Welsh farmer Jonathan Harrington who took it upon himself to procure and then plant GM strains of maize on his farm in Wales. Even more worryingly he claims to have fed livestock with the maize and passed on seeds to other farmers. This means that GMO's are in the food chain and not labeled correctly as required by law. Also, as he has refused to name the farmers he has passed his seed onto it is impossible to trace where some of the crop could have ended up. All this means that Harrington can and should be prosecuted by the British government for what he has done.
Wales, like Ireland is a GM free zone. That means that no GM crops can be planted within it's borders. Unfortunately although this is a strict farming policy they are unable to uphold it by law.
There are two main issues here as I see it:
Firstly, Wales is now contaminated with GMOs, even if Harrington declared to whom he had distributed the seed it is impossible in unsupervised sites to guarantee that there is no contamination into neighboring land. There is no going back from this point, it is doubtful that Wales will ever be able to declare itself GM free again. This exact problem has surfaced across Northern and Southern America causing the integrity of organic produce there to constantly be undermined.
Secondly, corporations such as Monsanto have a history of suing farmers for breaching the patent on their seeds. Monsanto explain the reasoning behind this on their website. As director of a small business I would see what Harrington has done as be detrimental to the reputation of the product. It is for this reason that I would expect to see him being sued by the company involved.
It is sad to see Wales loose it's GM free status due to the irresponsible actions of this one individual. As GMOs are not allowed in organic farming I can only hope that farmers in the vicinity will not have their livelihoods threatened by the potential loss of their organic status.
Whatever your view on GM food Farmer Harrington's actions have to be seen as damaging. Not only does he undermine the arguments of the pro GMO campaigners but he heightens the fears and reservations that the public already have about Genetically modified foods.
UPDATE: There's a postcard campaign, just a bit of fun aimed at this farmer to join in here:
Further reading
Jonathon Harrington:
Check Biotech
BBC
The Guardian - Harrington's reasoning
GM Contamination:
The CS Monitor
Organic Processing Magazine
Reuters
While us rich westerners continue to have the right to eat what we want and very cheaply 1 in 6 people starve. I am the farmer involved and would we and many of my fellow farmers would welcome any opportunity to grow any variety whether bred by GM methods or others that would increase world productivity.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to buy it then fine but you will have to live off woild fruits and nuts. Like it or not your are eating and wearing the products produced from this technology. Please get used to it.
If you are Jonathon Harrington there is no point now trying to make arguments for the use of GM foods. The debate is well and truly open and was so before your actions. Now you have left many people in Wales and beyond no choice to farm organically, no choice to keep GM away from their farms. You have left consumers with no choice to reject GM in the foods they eat.
ReplyDeleteThe flag flown by the biotech companies, that one day they will feed the world makes a compelling argument but scratch the surface and you will find this isn't their intention. In fact there is no evidence that they will be able to achieve this noble goal: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/gmcrops.food?gusrc=rss&feed=environment
The GM debate will continue but as I have mentioned in my post your behavior has pushed the progress of GM foods back a step, not your intention I'm sure but for me at least something good has come out of your actions.
Unfortunately Harrington typifies the attitude of the smug land owning toffs who are wealthy enough to shit all over the general public then have the arrogance to state that their, frankly eco-terrorist, actions are for the good of all.
ReplyDeletemy thoughts go out to my childrens children when they start to suffer the consequences of recipe farming of GMO crops.
ReplyDeletewho exactly knows what the outcome will be when the crops have been modified and what damage will done to the human race because of it.
you sir are in it for the money.
sad day for the human race for one mans greed.
Thanks Quetelet and Steve for your comments. I'm still waiting to see if the patent holders will do anything. Harrington has in effect damaged their brand.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for the people of Wales who will have to live with the consequences.
Steve are GM crops as prolific in Canada as in the US?
GMO crops are grown as the norm now in the province i am residing.farmers really dont have the choice now as they have been 'forced' to grow these gm crops.
ReplyDeletethe biggest crop is canola and the majority of what is grown is GM.
the canola board,just by chance has representatives sitting,who all work for the major chemical companies who have developed their strain of canola.
so these people in power are 'advising' the farmers on how to farm and with what.the chemical companies have the 'recipe' for how the farmer is to 'farm'.
the main reason farmers choose to grow Gm crops instead of organic is they get a better yield per acre for their $$$$$.so therefore its all about money.
now there is a little blackmarket of selling GM canola which has led to several farmers being prosecuted for growing a strain which they didnt have permission too.the chemical companies actually fly over and take photos of every field of canola and see who has planted it,then refer to all the reg'd farmers who sign actual contracts to grow and then its a matter of time to see if the farmer has the contractual rights to that canola.
many people who are all for GM crops and they say it will never get in the food chain if controlled properly etc etc etc.
this is total rubbish.i work in a cleaning/splitting pea plant and all the rough grain commodities come in with canola mixed in.
saying this we do clean the rough grain(green/yellow peas,desi pea and lentils) but the clean off containing the canola is then sent for animal feed.
this is the bad part.this feed contains all the canola which is then fed to all the beef cattle and porker pigs in the province.
NOT GETTING INTO THE FOOD CHAIN UNINTENTIONALLY,MY ARSE IT IS
the canadian wheat board are expected to grant the farming of GM wheat this year.
then when will it stop.
its all about money and control by the big chemical companies.
that will be another sad day
for farming and the human race.
Thanks for your comment Steve. Again it draws into question why the biotech companies aren't jumping on harrington, he has given seeds away (or claims to have done) to other farmers. When are they going to follow through and prosecute him and them for 'illegally' using their product?
ReplyDeletewe need to find out where he got the seeds from and contact the relative company to see if he had the license to farm or just contact them all!!!
ReplyDeleteone will surely chase the farmer to see why he is playing his rather silly game.
i dont understand why the welsh assembly hasnt nailed him for it too.
I live with a farmer and yesterday he was checking out the recommended wheat & barley varieties with the dept of agriculture here in Ireland.
ReplyDeleteIn my naivety I asked him if these recommendations were based on resistance to pests & diseases. His answer was simply: "Yield!"
What more is there to say, except that this man has been reading my Organic Gardening, Smallholder & Permaculture magazines for the past seven years! Wonders never cease...
I suppose this just typifies the whole farming mindset, doesn't it?
wow,this post has so much misinformation its scary and reflects very badly on you Amanda....
ReplyDeletea few wee points....
"accidental contamination" in Percy Schemisters case....oh please....read the court case as the Supreme Court of Canada in paragraph 87 of the ruling stated:
"The appellants in this case [Schmeiser] actively cultivated canola containing the patented invention as part of their business operations. Mr. Schmeiser complained that the original plants came onto his land without his intervention. However, he did not at all explain why he sprayed Roundup to isolate the Roundup Ready plants he found on his land; why he then harvested the plants and segregated the seeds, saved them, and kept them for seed; why he next planted them; and why, through this husbandry, he ended up with 1030 acres [4.2 km²] of Roundup Ready (GM) Canola which would otherwise have cost him $15,000."
you suggestion that Harrington can and should be prosecuted by the British government for what he has done is rubbish...the GM crops he used were legal. period.
you claim that Ireland is a GM free zone is weird as legally its false....and what pray tell is a "strict farming policy"...
also you claim that "There is no going back from this point, it is doubtful that Wales will ever be able to declare itself GM free again." is complete bull as Ireland had several years of trials of GM plants....does this mean Ireland cannot be a GM free zone??
Mark, thank you for your response to my post.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of Percy Schemister, you will see that in my original post I have linked to an article that points out the issues you have raised. Schemister's pledge that the initial contamination was accidental has not been refuted. Even if the blame did rest entirely with Schemister it still proves the original point which was that bio-tech companies are litigious.
On the point that I believe the British government should prosecute Harrington. I am aware that there is no grounds for prosecution for growing the seeds, which is unfortunate. However according to GM free Cymru, laws have been broken and prosecution is a possibility:
"...since the harvest has been marketed and has entered the food chain, there are regulatory requirements that all those responsible for GM "releases" into the environment and the food chain must have in place measures to ensure traceability, labelling and monitoring for undesirable effects. It appears that Mr Harrington and his neighbours have no such measures in place -- and that constitutes a serious breach of EU and British law."
From here
Ireland is currently GM free, as in no GM foods are grown on this Island. This is yet to become official policy but the government in their programme for government pledged to:
"seek(s) to negotiate for the whole island of Ireland to become a GMO-free zone."
I was not aware that GM trials had been conducted in Ireland but I would be interested to learn about them if you can forward me information.
My claim that there is no going back from this point stands. Harrington has refused to disclose who he has given seed to, the seeds from his plants cannot be contained thus they will be growing in Wales for some time to come.
I'd be happy to discuss this further with you. As I said in my post the debate is open and I think it is healthy to understand both sides of the argument.
three years worth of GM crops trials in Ireland...http://www.teagasc.ie/research/reports/crops/4483/eopr4483.asp
ReplyDeleteIreland has lost its GM virginity and the sky didn't come crashing down...
on the matter: "Harrington has refused to disclose who he has given seed to, the seeds from his plants cannot be contained thus they will be growing in Wales for some time to come." so what, farmers have the right to grow legal approved crops.
ReplyDeleteThis growing distinction between GM and organic is unsustainable...I recommend you have a read of the "Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food" by scientist Pam Ronald and her organic farmer husband....
"We found the book insightful and well-documented." -- Organic Gardening Magazine
Thanks anonymous for the links.
ReplyDeleteNo the sky didn't fall in but the trials were conducted in a controlled manner, much as trials are supposed to be conducted. It is true that I am not happy with GM trials at all, but at least when they are conducted in such conditions there is some control and accountability. Strains can be traced etc.
Harrington's actions could hardly be called a trial. He just sewed his seed without any traceability, which as I have demonstrated in a quote in my last comment '...constitutes a serious breach of EU and British law'
Also thank you for the information on the book which I will try to get my hands on. It sounds interesting.