Tablehurst Talk - 'How Genetically Modified Crops, Foods & Animals Affect Our Food & Farms

This is a chance to hear about the government's plans in relation to genetically modified crops from two experts in the field. Their will be a Q&A session at the end of the talk. As this event is part of our annual meeting of the Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Coop, it is free of charge. You can still come for the talk even if you don't attend the morning session of the annual meeting. Please register here if you haven't registered already for the annual meeting.

Boris Johnson, in his first public speech as prime minister, said one of his first priorities was to “liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience sector from anti-genetic modification rules”. This rapidly translated into a draft Bill that will remove safety checks, traceability and labelling from genetically modified (GM) seeds, crops, foods and animals. Boris may be gone, but the Bill lives on and could pass this year. In this talk, Dr Michael Antoniou and Claire Robinson will explain why the Bill threatens food safety and sovereignty, wildlife, and animal welfare, as well as the integrity and even the existence of organic, biodynamic, and conventional farming – and what you can do about it. The talk will be followed by questions from the audience and discussion.

Michael Antoniou, PhD is head of the Gene Expression and Therapy Group at King’s College London. He has used all types of genetic engineering technologies, including gene-editing tools. He has over 140 publications in the peer-reviewed literature and holds inventor status on biotechnology patents. Since the 1990s he has warned about the risks and harms of genetically modified crops and foods. He has also researched and published extensively on the health risks of pesticides, especially glyphosate weedkillers.

Claire Robinson, MPhil is co-director and editor of GMWatch, a news and information service that keeps the public up to date on genetically modified foods and crops and their associated pesticides (see gmwatch.org). Together with Dr Antoniou and another genetic engineer, she is the author of the book, GMO Myths and Truths: A Citizen's Guide to the Evidence on the Safety and Efficacy of Genetically Modified Crops and Foods, now in its 4th edition.