Picnic/Tom Parker Bowles 1999

Tom Parker-Bowles, posting a postcard which will be sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair urging him to ban GM foods, at a picnic to protest against genetically modified food and crops. * Hundreds of people joined in a mass protest against genetically modified food and crops by taking part in what was billed as Britain s biggest organic picnic. The picnic was in the grounds of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, south east London, and was organised by a coalition of anti-GM organisations, including Greenpeace, the Soil Association and The Picnic. People were also asked to take their own organic picnic to show their opposition to the introduction of GM ingredients in food. The picnic protesters said they were sending a message to the Government that genetic engineering was the wrong direction for Britain. Organisers have issued a challenge to the Government to set a target level for organic agriculture in the UK which at least equals that of the rest of the European Union 30% of agriculture by 2010 if current rates of growth continue. At present 70% of organic food sold in the UK is imported and just 1% of agricultural land is farmed organically.