Risks of Genetically modified food - evidence

Communication from War On Want


The Environment Minister Owen Paterson is backing genetically modified food - neglecting evidence provided in the longest independent study on genetically modified (GM) corn feed to date.  The ground-breaking 2012 study links GM and the use of pesticide Roundup to organ damage and increased risk of tumours. Previous studies have been carried out by companies such as Monsanto who themselves produce GM crops.

War on Want has helped organise a speaker tour, giving you the opportunity to hear from the leading scientist who has provided independent evidence on the risks of GM food.  We will have a series of events in Scotland, Wales and England during the GM Health Risk Week (2-8 September) where you'll hear a different perspective to what the media and the UK government are saying.

The GM Health Risk Week: an event near you!

David Cameron pledged £395 million from the UK Aid budget during the G8 forum to support private initiatives involved in spreading GM crops in Africa. This investment, under the guise of aid, will in fact lock small-scale farmers into dependency on corporate providers of seeds and chemical fertilisers, undermining any chance of defeating hunger. Farmers and civil society organisations across Africa oppose it.

The UK government should suspend its funding for research into GM crops. Instead it should support agricultural research focused on sustainable, organic and traditional seed propagation developed by small-scale farmers around the world.

The risks of GM food and crops to the food system and human health have been downplayed by the UK government and the media.

Join us to learn more about risks that GM poses to our food system.

I look forward to seeing you,

Graciela Romero
International Programmes Director

Letter to the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt - Secretary of State for Health

Dear Minister,

There are something's that are not for sale, one of which is healthcare. The prime objective of the NHS is CARE of the sick. The prime objective of private companies is profit pure and simple either by cutting costs, raising prices or compromising on quality or all three. The public are already fed up with the rip-off mentality of the now privately owned rail transport and utility companies. The food industry is equally guilty of serious negligence with regard to the health of consumers. Greedy banks along with complacent government have ruined the economy for everyone.

So as we can see privatisation is not the holy grail this government seems to believe it is. The government believes it can escape responsibility for it's own duty of care by handing it over to someone else, whom they can then blame if things go wrong. This is unacceptable. Healthcare is a social issue not a business enterprise.

The government must act with integrity to reform the standards of inpatient care and the efficacy of strong leadership on the wards based on the humanitarian principles that are the foundation of the NHS.

Outpatient services are generally excellent but at the present time there are many wonderful nurses and staff who are being badly let down by an uncaring ethos amongst some of their colleagues which then reflect on the service as a whole.

Your job as Minister is to make the NHS better, not offload your responsibility and work load to others whose main empathy is with money, not healthcare!