Farmers, food producers and consumers held a demonstration outside the Dáil this afternoon in protest at a proposed five-year GMO (genetically-modified organisms) potato experiment in Co Meath.
Today is the deadline set by the EPA for public submissions on a proposal by chemical giant BASF Plant Science GmbH to conduct the GMO potato experiment at the Teagasc research centre in Summerhill.
The picket called for the Government to ban genetically modified (GM) crops in Ireland. The experiment is due to begin in April and will continue until October 2010.
John Flynn, rural development chairman of the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers Association (ICSA) said today that Ireland has a very marketable clean, green image and it was essential to maintain and develop it.
"Trials like this are totally counterproductive, and very damaging to that image," he argued. "The ICSA will never allow huge commercial interests like BASF to come into Ireland and ruin the agricultural sector."
Canadian expert Prof Joe Cummins claimed the GM experiment presented a clear risk of contaminating conventional and organic Irish potatoes.
"The people and wildlife of Ireland should not be exposed to inadequately tested genetic constructions," said Prof Joe Cummins, who is Emeritus Professor of Genetics at the University of Western Ontario.