Environmental groups have urged councils to commit to non-genetically modified food in the run-up to the elections on May 1.

Friends of the Earth has asked councils to pledge not to use GM foods in schools and to call on the government to prevent GM crops being grown in their areas.

The group said councils needed to act before the government and European Commission decide later this year whether to allow the widespread growing of GM crops in Europe.

If given the go-ahead, GM crops risk contaminating local food, farmland and wildlife and threaten the viability of organic food, Friends of the Earth claims.

A growing number of councils have already voted to become GM-free areas, with those in the south west of England taking the lead.

Among them are Cornwall County Council, South Gloucestershire Council, South Hams District Council and town councils in Norton Radstock, near Bath, and Bridport, Dorset.

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