press releases

Tony Blair will be unable to satisfy his passion for genetically modified food this week at the Labour Party Conference as his conference hotel is going GM-free. To add insult to injury, his favourite Islington restaurant, Granita (where he and Gordon Brown famously decided who would lead the Labour Party) is also turning its back on GM food. The news comes only days after the Palace of Westminster caterers announced that they were going GM free.

Arctic Sunrise - taking action against nuclear power

As BNFL's two armed plutonium ships arrived in Japan today, Greenpeace UK called on the Government to reject the company's application to open its new Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP).

At around 5.30am today, amidst massive maritime security, the Greenpeace ship MV Arctic Sunrise bore witnesses to the delivery of the first cargo of weapons usable plutonium-MOX fuel to Japan from Europe. The fuel onboard the British flagged ship "Pacific Teal" arrived at the Fukushima nuclear plant on Japan's Pacific Coast. Carrying banners reading "Plutonium Kills" and "Plutonium = Destruction", the Sunrise was surrounded by 10 Japanese Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) ships carrying commandos in full riot equipment.

AMSTERDAM, September 23, 1999 - Today Greenpeace congratulated the world's largest auto manufacturer, General Motors, on its [announcement] decision to eliminate polyvinyl chloride (vinyl) plastic from its auto interiors. General Motors (GM) said moving away from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) will enable improvements in durability and a reduction of interior odors.

At the Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Harrogate today, a third of the party supported a permanent ban on GM crops whereas a majority supported a five year moratorium on the commercial growing of GM crops.

Sao Paulo, 21 September 1999 - Greenpeace welcomed the decision by the Brazilian President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, to approve the regulation of the Environmental Crimes Law but demanded the government to take all the necessary efforts to enforce the Law.

"The regulation will have strong impacts on illegal logging activities in the Amazon," said Paulo Adario, Greenpeace Amazon Campaigner.

At Norwich Magistrates Court today (20th September 1999), twenty eight Greenpeace volunteers who took action to stop a GM maize crop in Norfolk from irreversibly polluting the environment were committed to trial by jury. The trial will take place at Norwich Crown Court.

The twenty eight volunteers have pleaded 'not guilty' to charges of theft and criminal damage that were brought against them for taking non-violent direct action at Lyng in Norfolk, on July 26th 1999, against a farm-scale 'trial' of GM maize, conducted by agrochemical company AgrEvo.

Vienna, 20 September 1999 - The UN sponsored Biosafety Protocol talks to set international rules on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) closed in Vienna late Sunday night with the agreement to finalise the Protocol in January 2000 but leaving the question of how to deal with food and animal feed commodities open.

"The political commitment by all countries to sign up to the Biosafety Protocolol by all countries is promising," said Louise Gale, the head of the Greenpeace delegation in Vienna.

Ottawa/Vienna, 17 September 1999 -- Biotech giant Monsanto imported Canadian genetically engineered (GE) potatoes to Ukraine ignoring the laws that require environmental impact assessment, according to a Greenpeace investigation published today. Greenpeace called today in Vienna on the world's governments to agree to international rules such as the Biosafety Protocol to stop the proliferation of genetic engineered organisms (GMOs).

Brasilia, 17 September 1999 - Greenpeace launched today a campaign to pressure the Minister of the Civil House, Pedro Parente, to implement the Environmental Crimes Law that was approved in 1998 but has not been regulated.

"While the Brazilian Government discusses the regulation of the Law the environment is being damaged, as the recent apprehensions of illegal timber and the forest fires show. Currently, there is no way to properly punish the environmental criminals", says Roberto Kishinami of Greenpeace in Brazil.