Discouraging GM crops, not feed, is government policy

DISCOURAGING cultivation of genetically modified crops is Irish government policy, rather than discouraging the importation or consumption of authorised GM food or feed, according to Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith.

“Following the publication of the commitment in the Programme for Government to seek to negotiate the establishment of an all Ireland GM free zone, a process of elaborating and teasing out the implications of the commitment began among the relevant Departments,” he told the Dáil.

He said while there is ongoing consideration on how best to advance this commitment, the general understanding is that the commitment relates to a process of discouraging cultivation of GM crops. The minister was replying to Deputy Seymour Crawford of Fine Gael, who asked what progress was made in the commitment to establish a genetically modified free island.