I received a letter from Humfrey Malins MP this morning, replying to my email of yesterday.  I can say one thing for him, he’s on the ball when it comes to dismissing constituent’s concerns.  Here is an excerpt from his letter.

The Conservative Party believes unwanted mixing of GM and non-GM crops should be minimised, ensuring that producers and consumers can choose between GM, conventional and organic products.  Clean labelling is key here.

So far so good.  Our local Tory MP then had this to say:

GM materials are identifiable to a 0.1% threshold, and we regard this as an appropriate benchmark.  Our principal concern is to protect against cross-contamination, and any risk to bio-diversity.  The Government has taken the 0.9% figure which is proposed for produce and is seeking to apply it as an acceptable level of cross-contamination in cultivated crops.  This poses a threat to consumer choice and to the integrity of organic and conventional crops.  If GM crops are to be grown in the UK, it is essential to put in place adequate firewalls between them and conventional crops.  It is equally vital to put in place a robust legal framework to deal with liability, which does not at present exist.  I would be concerned that many local authorities would not have the scientific expertise necessary to make appropriate decisions about GM crops.  With levels of cross-contamination yet to be clarified, it could also impact on boundaries beyond their own jurisdiction.  Therefore, I am unable to sign EDM 396.

I’m disappointed.  Mr Malins has a point about possible lack of scientific expertise in local authorities, but I feel that sidestepping this EDM is a mistake, as it is so important that the government doesn’t think that we don’t care.  How I wish we had a Green Party MP in place.