Upcoming Events

National | Miscellaneous

no events match your query!

New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link Surprise Offensive Puts 300 km² of Russ... Fri Aug 09, 2024 08:44 | Marko Marjanović

offsite link The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire

offsite link In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire

offsite link UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović

offsite link US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire >>

The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.  We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below). 

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link The Political Consensus on Net Zero is Beginning to Crumble Thu Nov 14, 2024 07:00 | Andrew Montford
Later today, the House of Lords will debate the cost of renewable energy and rising electricity prices. With more and more peers questioning the wisdom of the headlong rush to Net Zero, is the consensus beginning to crack?
The post The Political Consensus on Net Zero is Beginning to Crumble appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Thu Nov 14, 2024 01:14 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Private Healthcare for Illegal Migrants in Hotel While NHS Walk-In Centre Shuts Down Wed Nov 13, 2024 19:30 | Will Jones
Illegal migrants are being given private healthcare while being put up in a Greater Manchester hotel despite Labour's pledge to stop using hotels and a local NHS walk-in centre being shut down.
The post Private Healthcare for Illegal Migrants in Hotel While NHS Walk-In Centre Shuts Down appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Cruelty of Cancel Culture Wed Nov 13, 2024 17:30 | Dr Carole Sherwood
Following the tragic suicide of an Oxford student after he was shunned by friends, Clinical Psychologist Dr. Carole Sherwood asks what kind of society we have become when students live in constant fear of being cancelled.
The post The Cruelty of Cancel Culture appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Flying is Less Safe Now Pilots are Covid Vaccinated Wed Nov 13, 2024 15:34 | Nick Hunt
Flying became less safe now that pilots are Covid vaccinated, says safety expert Nick Hunt. That's because MHRA has admitted that it failed to share an alarming report from Pfizer with the air safety authority.
The post Flying is Less Safe Now Pilots are Covid Vaccinated appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Trump's re-election redistributes the cards , by Thierry Meyssan Wed Nov 13, 2024 04:05 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N°107 Sat Nov 09, 2024 14:52 | en

offsite link Russia's view of the situation in Ukraine Sat Nov 09, 2024 14:34 | en

offsite link The Voltaire Network website heavily attacked! Thu Nov 07, 2024 04:31 | en

offsite link Israeli-Iranian auctions mask the reorganization of alliances in the Middle East... Tue Nov 05, 2024 06:52 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Fianna Fáil Decision on GM food is dangerous and foolhardy

category national | miscellaneous | press release author Friday February 18, 2011 14:24author by R Report this post to the editors

The decision by the outgoing Fianna Fáil government to reverse Ireland's policy on genetically modified (GM)...

The decision by the outgoing Fianna Fáil government to reverse Ireland's policy on genetically modified (GM) food has been described as both dangerous and foolhardy by a leading Irish NGO. Speaking on behalf of Afri, Clare O’Grady Walshe, who has lectured on food politics and was a member of the Green Energy Task Force in 2009, described the government decision to no longer abstain in EU debates on GM food as having enormous implications for Irish people and the environment.

Ms. O’Grady Walshe, who is also a board member of the Irish Seed Savers Association, claimed that Ireland could take the lead in promoting GM-free agriculture, which would provide EU consumers with the food they want. She argues that such an approach, steeped in Irish culture and Irish uniqueness as a ‘green’ island on the edge of Europe, would be the best way of defending a sector that is worth €16.6 billion to our economy, 8% of GDP, and employs 150,000 people supporting some 128,000 family farms.

“At a time when the Irish food sector is enjoying success in difficult economic times, and when EU citizens continue to vote overwhelmingly for GM-free foods, this decision by Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith sets Ireland on a road towards increased collaboration with controversial technologies, whose main proponents are some of the worst polluting multinationals on the planet”, said Ms O’Grady Walshe.

Afri locates the decision in the context of the huge issues facing agriculture on a planet running out of oil and experiencing the ravages of climatic change. They point to expert reports, most notably the recent Review of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which notes that “the most effective strategy to adapt agriculture to climate change is by growing diverse crops and increasing genetic diversity of the crop varieties we grow”. The IAASTD report specifically states that “questionable technological fixes such as transgenic crops/GM should be avoided”.

It is reported that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour agree on this policy of relaxing laws and allowing GM varieties to enter our food chain. Ms O’Grady Walshe describes the issue as fundamentally about democracy and transparency. “The GM lobby is the Anglo-Irish Bank of the agriculture and food sector and the people who are shouting stop in this area can be derided in the same way as those who called it correctly on the banking crisis; but this is much more important than money – because you can’t eat money – it’s about the food we eat and feed our children, which links us to people everywhere and to the earth we are so mindlessly destroying”, she concluded.

Related Link: http://www.afri.ie
author by Tpublication date Tue Apr 12, 2011 23:56author address author phone Report this post to the editors

The text of the Green Party press release on this abrupt U-Turn by the FF criminals is reproduced below so as to give more context to the above story.

Fianna Fáil caves in on GM
Issued: 08 February 2011
Statement by Trevor Sargent, spokesperson on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Irish Government performs u-turn following Green Party's exit from cabinet

The Green Party has said it is alarmed by Fianna Fáil’s u-turn on the issue of GM food today, following confirmation by Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith that Ireland is to vote in support of European Commission proposals to allow genetically modified maize and cotton onto the market

In Government, the Green Party ensured that Ireland abstained on this vote.

"All the indications are that Labour and Fine Gael would make the same decisions as Fianna Fáil on this issue and only the Green Party was willing to stand up to the powerful interests involved," Green TD for Dublin North Trevor Sargent said today.

The former Food Minister added: “This is a clear a U-turn by Fianna Fáil following the Green's departure from Government. It shows the Greens were always on the side of the consumer and producers and had been making a real difference in terms of protecting Ireland's reputation for high quality food. Here is another example of where the influence of big business on Fianna Fáil comes before what the public interest.

“This is a backward step for Irish agriculture, and will serve to undermine our reputation with European consumers. We need to ensure we produce what consumers in Europe want, and at present the majority of EU consumers do not want GM food. According to successive Eurobarometer surveys over 60% of European consumers want their food GM-free. The GM issue is about consumer choice and Fianna Fáil's U-turn damages the quality image of Irish food produce. It undermines the very strategy set out in Food Harvest 2020, which puts great importance on the marketing of Irish food as being "high-quality" and certifying its sustainability.

“Contrary to assertions made by Minister Smith that GM-free animal feed is difficult to source, it is freely available at a small premium. As Irish cattle eat grass most of the year this small premium would represent a tiny price differential for the customer (e.g. 2c on a Sunday roast). Persuing a GM-free produce strategy in Ireland would best meet the requirements of European consumers. The highest quality lines in European supermarkets insist on the use of GM-free feed, e.g Carrefour and Co-op Italia."

“We must have Greens in Government to ensure that Irish food can have access to the highest quality food international markets,” concluded Deputy Sargent.

Related Link: http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/latest_news/fianna_fail_caves_in_on_gm
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy