Today is the first day of ERMA's four-day hearing of submissions
on the NZ Institute for Crop & Food Research Ltd's application
to undertake a ten year, four ha field trial of GE broccoli,
cauliflower cabbage and kale at Lincoln. <>
Greenpeace's submission was presented by Duncan Currie, an
international expert in genetic engineering law. He challenged
ERMA's recommendation to approve the application, and noted that
ERMA had never yet turned down a GE field trial.
ERMA has:
• Misapplied the Act and Methodology to assess both uncertainty
and risk.
• Failed to properly assess the opportunity cost in the sense of
lost funding to other non-GE research
• incorrectly scoped risks, costs and benefits according to the
HSNO Act.
While ERMA has said that wider environmental impacts of GE
brassica cannot be assessed in one small field trial, it then goes
on to claim there may be wider scientific benefits. It then talks
of "managing" the risk rather than giving an assessment of what the
risks are.
Mr Currie argued that ERMA had concluded that the environmental
effects of the trial would be negligible, because they were 'highly
unlikely' to arise in the context of this field trial and if they
did, they could be contained.
The potential environmental risks include contamination of
non-GE crops, the development of insect resistance to the Bt toxin
(one of the few pesticides available to organic farmers), effects
on non-target insects such as butterflies, and the escape of the
genes.
"ERMA can't have it both ways - they either make an assessment
of the wider environmental risks and costs as well as the benefits,
or they don't look any wider than this particular field trial at
all."
"Moreover, saying that risk can be managed does nothing to
assess what that risk may be. This is not the way the Act has been
written, and ERMA has made a serious mistake in its
interpretation," said Currie.
"Trials to test insect resistance to GE Bt brassica are a waste
of both time and money. The research around the world for Bt
Brassica already showed that insects build up resistance, the
consumer doesn't want it; farmers won't grow it, and certainly
can't sell it. Greenpeace calls on the Government to put money into
productive research instead."
Greenpeace noted that ERMA had never turned down a GE field
trial application and called on the Government to turn this one
down.
"The appearance is that any application, no matter how
misconceived, how pointless and no matter what level of opposition,
will be approved. It is time to correct that apprehension," said
Currie.
Other contacts: Contact: to get in touch with Duncan Currie call Cindy Baxter 021 772 661
Exp. contact date: 2007-04-12 00:00:00