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Sargent's Major Opposition to GM

David Storey talks to Green Party leader Trevor Sargent about the lack of interest in GM issues in Ireland.

Given that the introduction of GM technology in this country would be the biggest change in agriculture since the invention of the plough, it is surprising how little interest there is the GM debate. Even organic food producers, who would be out of business overnight, were their crops or ingredients to become contaminated, have hardly raised a murmur.

According to Green Party leader Trevor Sargent, this lack of interest is a reflection of the lack of public interest in farming as a whole. Farming organisations have failed their members by simply relying on the government to bring back from Europe solutions to all their problems. Equally the government appears to have no interest in initiating a public debate on the issue. So far it's only the Green Party, along with Sinn Fein, that has made any effort to highlight the potential dangers to this country in adopting GM technology. There is a real possibly of us ending up with GM by stealth.

"More than any other European country, Ireland has the most to gain by remaining GM free, and as we are an island this is quite feasible," says Sargent. "And, given the importance of agriculture and agricultural-related industries in this country, we also have the most to lose." The introduction of GM crops would affect all farmers. Market surveys show that consumers want GM-free food. But if Irish fields become contaminated with GM, then Irish farmers will no longer be able to claim that they are GM free.

Sargent rejects the claim that herbicide-resistant GM crops will reduce the use of agrochemicals. "The claims made for reduced agrochemicals in GM crops were found not to be true," he says. "In fact, more chemicals were needed for herbicide-resistant crops. Also the higher yields, which were claimed by GM companies such as Monsanto, didn't materialise. In fact yields were reduced."

One argument advanced in favour of GM is that it would help to rid the world of starvation. What right have we, the well-fed of Europe, to deny developing nations enough to eat? Sargent argues that this is a completely bogus argument without any foundation. "The problems of hunger in the third world are not due to their lack of food growing ability," he says. "It is the effects of globalisation, which has resulted in the control of food supplies being left in the hands of fewer and fewer seed and agrochemical companies, that is contributing to famine."

On the GM issue, and on others, Sargent feels that the officials in the Department of Agriculture are not acting in the best interests of farming. In his experience, department officials are generally people with an interest in agricultural science, with the emphasis on the science. He describes a meeting in Brussels attended by officials from the Department. "They were like children in a sweetshop talking about GM," he says. "As far as they were concerned, GM was a new product and if the French and other European farmers were going to have it, then in the interests of competition Irish farmers would need to have it too. That is the mindset which is informing policy in the Department of Agriculture."

One way of protecting this country from GM crops would be to dramatically increase the organic sector. GM crops cannot be planted near organic farms. If a country has enough organic farmers then there are few places available for the planting of GM crops. This is the situation in Austria where 11% of the land is organic. "Because there are so many organic farmers there and GM crops have to be planted well away from organic farmers, it has proved almost impossible for GM crops to be planted", says Sargent. "That's an intelligent way of getting around the rules of the World Trade Organisation." But it is up to individual countries to establish buffer zones, that is, to define the distance that must be maintained between GM and non-GM crops. "The minister hasn't been able to tell me whether the government has made any decision on the size of buffer zones, for example between GM and non-GM farms," he says. "It indicates that the government is being dictated to by the GM companies, who work through the World Trade Organisation and who use international free trade law to twist their arms."

For anyone wishing to be informed on the GM issue, Sargent recommends a document produced by the Soil Association entitled 'Seeds of Doubt.' According to Sargent this would help them realise that GM technology is nothing more than "a smart business move by companies who want to increase their market share by controlling food."

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