"Dig It Up! campaign (by way of Jean Saunders )" wrote:
> Time for a group hug and well done everyone!
>
> GM SEED FIRM AGREES TO COMPENSATE FARMERS
> By PA news reporters
> Farmers who planted crops contaminated with genetically modified material
> were today advised by supplier Advanta to destroy them.
>
> The Lincolnshire-based company, which imported oilseed rape seeds from
> Canada unaware that they contained around 1% GM material, has agreed to
> compensate farmers for their loss.
>
> The company today refused to give any guidance on the level of compensation
> expected to be paid out, but it stressed that the payments did not
> indicate that it had accepted liability for the incident.
> Advanta Seeds UK has been holding talks over the last few days with the
> National Farmers' Unions of England and Scotland on how to overcome the
> problem.
>
> The Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) revealed last month that around 500
> farms had been affected, with GM-contaminated seeds sown on about 9,000
> acres in 1999 and 4,500 this year.
>
> While Agriculture Minister Nick Brown told the House of Commons that the
> incident posed ``no threat to public health or the
> environment'', environmental campaigners expressed concerns and some
> farmers ploughed up their fields, fearful that they would never find buyers
> for the contaminated crops.
>
> In a statement released today, Advanta said: ``After detailed discussions
> of other alternatives, Advanta has now determined that
> at this late stage in the growing season, the only practical course of
> action is for farmers to remove these crops.
>
> ``Farmers need to assure themselves that the crops can qualify for EU area
> aid payments. The Government, in its statement of May 27, has already
> indicated how this can be achieved within existing rules.''
>
> Advanta today promised that the compensation package for affected farmers
> would be ``fair and equitable''.
>
> Precise details of how much each farmer will receive will be hammered out
> by advisory panels of union representatives, loss
> adjusters and independent agricultural experts over the next few weeks.
>
> The Advanta statement said: ``Advanta is making this gesture, not because
> of any liability, but because it has always put, and
> continues to put, the interests of its merchants and their farmer customers
> first.
> ``The event emphasises the need for urgent Government action on seed purity
> thresholds for GM impurities, coordinated at an international level.
> Advanta welcomes the high priority that MAFF is now giving to this issue.''
>
> A MAFF spokesman welcomed the Advanta decision, saying that the issue was
> primarily one between the supplier and its customers. He said: ``We welcome
> anything which brings a speedy solution to this issue, both for the farmers
> and for Advanta.''
> The Government was already pursuing the international thresholds on GM
> purity which Advanta called for, he said.
>
> Charles Secrett, director of Friends of the Earth, welcomed the move,
> saying: ``Advanta have finally faced facts and agreed to pay
> up.
>
> ``Why did it take the Government and the company so long to own up in
> public to this fiasco?
>
> ``Contamination of this kind will happen again. There is no system in place
> to determine who is liable for damage caused by GM crops.
>
> ``That is why the Government must accept a share of the blame for what has
> happened.''
> With compensation in the UK alone expected to run into millions of pounds,
> insurers and investors in agribusiness are expected to
> demand clarity on the issue of liability for any future contamination
> incidents.
>
> DIG IT UP!
> A call to remove GM Oilseed Rape from Britain's countryside.
> See the latest news and ideas for action at www.dig-it-up.uk.net
>
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