Memorandum submitted by Joseph Mishan,
Co-ordinator Stort Valley Friends of the Earth (A4)
I would like to contribute to the enquiry into
the conduct of the GM Nation debate by letting you know of my
own experience. I am the co-ordinator of a local Friends of the
Earth group based in Hertfordshire.
I phoned the GM Nation number one week
into the debate and asked for one hundred information/response
packs which I was intending to distribute to our membership and
to give out at a stall in the Bishops Stortford Carnival day.
I was also in the process of organising a public debate but I
did not yet have a date for this.
I was told that I could not have packs if I
did not have a date for a public debate. When I protested about
the very short time allowed for arranging a debate, I was put
through to a senior member of staff who told me that the packs
were "not for handing out at street corners", and had
to be part of a balanced debate. However, she promised to discuss
my request further with her seniors. I was eventually allowed
50 packs.
I am amazed that the packs were not given out
more freely, but had conditions attached. My group have recently
been part of the Government consultation on airport expansion,
and in this case packs were sent out without question. I understand
that the GM packs were designed to be part of a formal debate,
but given the very restricted time frame there should have been
more flexibility on this. I also see no reason why giving them
out on street corners was prohibited: I would have thought the
street is a venue which is very representative of the population,
and a good way to publicise this issue.
(I have finally been able to organise a debate
with a local church group, but it is way outside the six weeks
of the debate).
The impression I was left with was that the
debate had to be run in accordance with Government specifications,
just in case the response from the public was not what was wanted.
The "balanced debate" idea was I presume an attempt
to counteract the well-known public antagonism to GM. However
the packs were in themselves quite balanced and would therefore
be quite adequate in themselves. Also, as a Friends of the Earth
group we are part of the balanced debate: if there are other groups
who are pro-GM then they are also part of it. This reflects the
debate on airport expansion which is also characterised by pro
and anti groups which together make up a balance.
In short I object to the very short time frame
of the debate and to the problem I had in obtaining packs which
should have been freely available and not provided only under
certain conditions.
9 September 2003
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