We can now confirm that Jeffrey M. Smith - leading spokesperson on the health dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) - will be appearing at the Haven Arms Public House in Hedon on Monday 18th June 2007. This is a massive opportunity to see this magnetic speaker in the very place the UK government chose to trial its only ‘field’ trial of GM crops.
GM FOODS AND HEALTH RISK - The Suppressed Evidence - JEFFREY M. SMITH
HAVEN ARMS PUBLIC HOUSE, Havenside, Sheriff Highway, Hedon, HU12 8HH, Tel no. 01482 897695
7.30pm to 9.30pm
Doors open at 7pm and there will be time for questions after.
Jeffrey’s new book GENETIC ROULETTE will also be available to buy -
‘The biotech industry’s claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe is shattered in this groundbreaking book.’
Directions
1. From the M62 continue along the A63, head for Hull.
2. Continue past Hull City Centre onto the A1033 and keep on towards Hedon.
3. Straight on into Hedon, turn right at crossroads onto Sheriff Highway, fourth turn on the right.
The area will be sign posted! From any other direction - go to Hull, head east to Hedon and look for the signs.
For more information about Jeffrey, his background and his work - see his website:
www.seedsofdeception.com
BASF have announced that there is to be no planting in East Yorkshire this year. This is brilliant news!
However, the impact was somewhat buried under massive headlines about DEFRA'S decision to give the green light to GM crops. They gave the final permission for the trial to go ahead after viewing the results of the public consultation and considering a report from ACRE - an independent advisory committee.
The permission lasts for 5 years and BASF are not giving up - citing the borage problem as reason for them to hold back on this year's trial.
The deadline has now passed as of the 20th April for informing DEFRA of any representations regarding risks that may come from the proposed trials. We have sent a copy of all signatures gathered before the cut off point to DEFRA (828 in total).
We are continuing to collect signatures for the petition until Hedon is safe from the threat of GM Spuds.
Keep an eye on http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2007/index.htm for news.
Hedon Town Council voted unanimously on the 19th April to NOT support the proposed GM trials in Hedon.
We are joining with people from all around the country on Saturday 21st April to have a peaceful stroll along to the proposed site and indulge in an organic picnic. We will all be meeting at Preston Road Community Centre at 1pm to hear speakers (click on the link for a map). Hope the weather is fine for us. For more details go to www.mutatoes.org
For photos of the Cambridge Rally click here:
We had our meeting on the 5th April 07 as planned -thanks to those of you who could make it.
A very brief summary of the evening –
Pete Riley was able to attend from GMFreeze, Clare Oxborrow spoke on behalf of Friends of the Earth. It was important that BASF made an appearance to answer questions personally from members of the public and local farmers.
Chris Wilson (BASF Corporate Communications Officer) outlined the company’s belief in GM technology as being the technology of the 21st century.
Dr. Arpad Pusztai, our special guest, gave a presentation relating his experiments with GM rats when he worked for the Rowlett Institute in the late 1990’s.
Chris Wilson took the floor again to answer questions. Amongst many excellent questions – the main point to come out of this was: why hadn’t BASF arranged to talk to the farmers in the immediate area and let them know the facts about the trials.
Some local borage farmers were present and appeared very worried about the fact that they had planted this year’s crop and the beekeepers who normally bring their hives to their fields were threatening to keep away.
There was also a meeting of Hedon Town Council that evening and they had requested the presence of BASF and GM experts to explain more about the trials. (Hence the decision to squeeze a public meeting in just before it). They will be meeting next Thursday to discuss their position.
We can now confirm that we have the eminent GM Scientist Dr. Arpad Pusztai coming to speak at our meeting. Dr Pusztai was one of the first to speak out about the dangers of GM back in 1998. To find out more about Dr Pusztai - please read this excellent article by Louise Hosie:
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/lifestyle/article2032663.ece
Hope some of you can make the meeting - will see you there
The public meeting will be open to the public from 6pm. Apologies for any confusion.
We have now confirmed the venue for our Public Meeting. It will be held on the 5th April at the Haven Arms public house, Sheriff Highway, Hedon.
The meeting will start at 6pm for the press and Council members, and at 7pm for the public.
We are proud to have secured some very important speakers including Clare Oxborrow from the national Friends of the Earth and Pete Riley from GM Freeze. We will be confirming more guests shortly.
We have decided to produce and host a petition ourselves, due to the fact that we really can't wait any longer for our application for the Prime Ministers website petition to be processed.
Many thanks to Ethos Design making this possible and for their endless 24/7 support!
You can now sign a petition in Hedon Post Office (Market Place). Please go along and add your support!
There will be articles about our campaign in the Yorkshire Post and the Holderness Gazzette tomorrow (22nd March).
After some good advice, we've decided to create our own petition that specifically relates to the Hedon Against GM campaign (Currently we are adding to a UK wide Anti GM petition).
The new petition could take some time to be processed, so please fill in the current one for the time being and join the mailing list to be notified of the new petitions arrival. It's very important that you come back and sign the new petition to support our local cause!
We've updated the site (including adding the `countdown` on the homepage) to keep everyone on top of just how little time we have to oppose this very important issue.