Having been attacked by the federation of table grape producers (FNPRT) for allegedly “denigrating” the fruit through the publication of an inquest into the presence of pesticides in grapes, the movement for the rights and respect of future generations (MDRGF) has hit back, according to Fld.
Last week, the MDRGF said that if denigration had been the movement’s aim, it would have published the report at the start of the grape campaign and not in November 2008. Nor, the group continued, had it called for a boycott. It also noted that grape sales were 11 per cent higher in November 2008 than a year earlier.
To FNPRT’s complaint about the use of the word “contaminated”, the MDRGF pointed out that the same term is used by several state bodies.
The movement’s president, François Veillerette, described the figure of €500,000 demanded by the FNPRT as “exorbitant” and denounced the trial as an “attempt to intimidate” and “an attack on the freedom of expression”.
The FNPRT reportedly has until 1 July to respond.
