Farmers are being bullied into accepting genetically modified (GM) crops by the EU and the World Trade Organisation, according to speakers at the Green Ireland conference in Kilkenny yesterday.
The three-day event, co-hosted by the GM-Free Ireland Network and An Taisce, the environmental group, also heard that most Irish farmers were "in the dark" about GM technology.
Eddie Punch, general secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association, accused the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) of "suppressing debate" and said his organisation called for the entire island of Ireland to become "a GM-free zone".
He said there was a huge demand from consumers in Europe for "more natural" food, either organic or free range, and Ireland should capitalise on its "green image".
The conference heard that beef and dairy farmers who avoid using GM animal feed could achieve higher prices, and that Baskin-Robbins, the world's largest ice-cream maker, recently signed an agreement with the Silver Pail dairy in Co Cork for GM-free ice-cream for outlets across Europe.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe was invited to the conference but a spokeswoman said he could not attend "due to partnership talks".
She referred to the IFA policy on GM which states that "like science and technology generally, it can have many positive implications for agriculture and food production. These include control of animal and plant disease, reduction of costs and improved productivity." The conference chairman, Michael Tullaghan, said he was "horrified" that the Government was now supporting GM, and accused Fianna Fáil of breaking a 1997 promise to keep Ireland GM-free.
He accused the IFA of "collusion" with the European Commission, and denounced the policy of "co-existence" which allowed GM crops to be grown in proximity to GM-free farms. This was "nonsensical" due to the risk of cross-contamination.
He claimed "victory" following a recent decision by German company BASE not to proceed this year with a field trial of potatoes at a farm in Summerhill, Co Meath. They had been genetically modified to resist blight.
Kate Carmody, representing the Irish Organic Farmers' and Growers' Association, claimed that the major political parties have "no policies on GM, and that things are happening by default".
However, Dr Pat O'Mahony, the chief specialist in biotechnology at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which was not invited to the conference, said food containing GM products which was on sale in Ireland "is as safe as its non-GM counterparts".