The Spuds don't work.

Delivering the answer to GM crops-

Outside the Forum, Norwich, noon, 23rd July 2011.

British trials of Genetically Modified blight resistant spuds have been
failing for the last ten years. But a conventionally bred variety of blight
resistant potatoes has been available for 7 years. So why are we still
paying for their dangerous experiment?

Come ride with us on the back of a trailer load of safe effective spuds as
we go to deliver them to the doors of the Sainsbury Laboratory outside
Norwich. It's one of only two possible open air trials for GM crops in
Britain this year, and has already cost the taxpayer £1.7 million. Join us
for pedal powered tunes, fine organic chips and good cheer as we go and show
them that we've found the potatoes they're looking for. Emma Hockridge, the
Soil Associations head of Policy, Pete Riley, chair of the GM Freeze
campaign, Gerald Miles, potato farmer and others will be inviting the John
Innes Researchers to join them in debate.

Sunday 24th July

Countering the GM come back

Make a weekend of it by sticking around under for a day long camp to plan
the next stages of the campaign. Help build projects on everything from
getting the GM oil out of takeaways to next years proposed GM wheat trials,
raising awareness of the new studies on human health effects to European
public decontamination solidarity work. Camping spaces available from Friday
pm onwards. For practical details see
www.stopgm.org.uk/gathering-momentum or ring 07595 506673

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A tale of two spuds..

For the last 10 years, researchers at the Sainsbury laboratory at the John
Innes Centre in Norwich have spent 1.7 million pounds of public money
failing to develop a genetically modified potato resistant to the fungal
disease blight. Public rejection of the risks associated with eating
genetically modified food means that even if the engineering involved was
successful, there would be no market for the crop.

Meanwhile, 7 years ago a small Welsh research charity dedicated to
conventional breeding techniques developed a spud that is spectacularly
resistant to blight. Not only does the crop pose no threat to health, the
environment, or neighbouring farmers; it works. Over 6 different varieties
are now available, and being grown on a commercial scale.

Why this, why now?
The campaign against GM crops ten years ago was so successful that GM almost
completely vanished from our fields and supermarkets, and most of the public
have forgotten the issues associated with the technology. But in many other
parts of the world peasant farmers have been desperately fighting its
spread, and laws are changing in Europe that would make it much easier for
GM to be grown in Britain. The coalition claims it intends to be the most
pro GM this country has ever seen, and an application for a GM wheat trial
has just been submitted for 2012.

GM is an outmoded technology that continues to waste money in failing
projects, while simultaneously threatening the very science that's actually
producing working alternatives quickly and cheaply. The biotech companies
have gone unchallenged in their claims that GM can create genuinely useful
crops when in fact all the significant advancements in the last decade have
come through conventional breeding.

With the renewed threat of GM on the horizon lets get together again to show
the rest of the country (and each other) that we're still here, and we've
got an even better case than ever. This is the perfect opportunity to
demonstrate that it's us, and not the corporations, that have the answers to
the food crisis.

The event is being co-ordinated by Stop GM in conjunction with the Genetic
Engineering Network.
For more information please check this briefing on the potatoes from the GM
Freeze>
and how to get hold of the solution
*www.sarvari-trust.org*