Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales Euro MP Jill Evans has welcomed the news that no GM crop trials will be held in Wales this spring.

Responding to the government’s announcement that 35 sites in England will be used for the last year of three years of farm trials for herbicide tolerant GM maize Ms Evans said:

"Following last year’s protests in Pembrokeshire and Flintshire I hope the government has finally realised that Wales will not tolerate being a GM crop guinea pig again. Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales campaigned strongly against the GM crop trials last spring and we are glad that DEFRA has at last listened to public opinion."

Jill Evans MEP is a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment and Public Protection. She has been a prominent campaigner against GM crops in both Wales and Brussels where she has chaired and addressed international conferences on GM contamination, patent infringement and GM food labelling. She added:

"The Soil Association has shown how more than 100 organic farms could be at risk of contamination from the current round of genetically-modified crop test sites for oil seed rape, sugar beet and fodder beet in England. The additional sites announced today will add to that risk. The EU has recommended buffer zones of 5 kilometres for trial sites, but even then admits that 0.3% of organic and non-organic seed could still be contaminated. Surprisingly the UK government is proposing buffer zones of just 200 meters."

"Tomorrow (Friday) is European Consumer Rights Day. I find it ironic that the government says it will protect the right of British consumers to choose non-GM food and then totally undermines that by announcing GM trials which can cause GM contamination."

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