I was pleased to see that the Polish parliament continues to lead the way in protecting their country from GMOs. After banning imports of GM seeds in May they have now passed another law banning the production and use of GM animal fodder. This coming from one of the biggest agricultural countries in Europe sends a clear message to the European Commission and other countries that it is possible to take action to protect food quality and consumer health. The GM creep is not inevitable.

And the latest Eurobarometer survey of public opinion across the EU backs their actions. It clearly shows the public's opposition to GM foods, with a decline in support over the last two year. The survey concludes that GM food is seen as "not being useful, as morally unacceptable and as a risk for society.".

By now a 172 European Regions and 4,500 local authorities have joined calls to be GMO free and it's increasing all the time.

But the UK government seems to be oblivious to all of this and is heading in the opposite direction. In July UK Ministers suggested that GM crops could be grown commercially in the UK for the first time by 2009. There could be GM potato trials in England from next Spring if the German chemical company BASF gets Defra's approval.

These developments would be disastrous for the booming organic produce industry here in Wales. As the UK environment minister said (bizarrely whilst promoting GM crops) "in the real world, you can't have zero-cross-pollination". This means that if we start growing GM crops here in Wales the organic industry will in effect come to an end. It's happening already in Spain, the only EU country to have grown commercial GM crops. An organic farmer was recently stripped of his organic certificate after a contamination rate of 12.6% was found in his maize. His business is ruined and he gets no compensation, no one is officially 'to blame'. Big corporations are getting away with contamination that's ruining people's livelihoods.

We can't let this happen in Wales. It is still possible to be GM free but if we start down the path of planting crops there is no turning back and no way of knowing where it will lead. The Assembly Government must take practical steps to ensure our future - as food producers and consumers.