You Are Here:
The Bt cotton crop is genetically engineered to repel the cotton
bollworm. A second generation of GE cotton is being considered for
commercial release and is likely to be approved by the regulatory body,
the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR).
Bayer’s herbicide resistant GE canola, which is designed to withstand large doses of the accompanying weedkiller has also been approved by the OGTR, together with another GE canola variety. However, major canola growing states have implemented moratoria on its use.
GE blue carnations were approved for commercial production and are available for sale.
While the number of GE crops commercially released in Australia is still very limited, over 100 field trials have been approved to test GE varieties of wheat, barley, sugarcane, field peas, potatoes, lupins, pineapples, papaya, clover, poppies, grapevines and apples. Despite the moratoria, some trials of GE canola are also underway.
Concerns about the necessity of these trials have been raised because:
1. Most trial data is not released and public interest in knowing the agronomic and environmental performance of the crop is ignored. Data collected from seven years of trials over 3000 hectares of land is yet to be released by the OGTR.
2. Many of the trials are being conducted by either government agencies, publicly funded scientific bodies such as CSIRO or universities. This reflects research and development priorities that are heavily biased towards GE, and does not reflect the fact that the vast majority of Australian farmers are GE-free and either oppose GE or believe they do not have enough unbiased information to make informed decisions.
3. Trials approved at state level impose few conditions, provide little information to the public, have inadequate buffer zones, have no apparent scientific basis, lack strong monitoring and fail to protect non-GE farmers from contamination.
Bayer’s herbicide resistant GE canola, which is designed to withstand large doses of the accompanying weedkiller has also been approved by the OGTR, together with another GE canola variety. However, major canola growing states have implemented moratoria on its use.
GE blue carnations were approved for commercial production and are available for sale.
While the number of GE crops commercially released in Australia is still very limited, over 100 field trials have been approved to test GE varieties of wheat, barley, sugarcane, field peas, potatoes, lupins, pineapples, papaya, clover, poppies, grapevines and apples. Despite the moratoria, some trials of GE canola are also underway.
Concerns about the necessity of these trials have been raised because:
1. Most trial data is not released and public interest in knowing the agronomic and environmental performance of the crop is ignored. Data collected from seven years of trials over 3000 hectares of land is yet to be released by the OGTR.
2. Many of the trials are being conducted by either government agencies, publicly funded scientific bodies such as CSIRO or universities. This reflects research and development priorities that are heavily biased towards GE, and does not reflect the fact that the vast majority of Australian farmers are GE-free and either oppose GE or believe they do not have enough unbiased information to make informed decisions.
3. Trials approved at state level impose few conditions, provide little information to the public, have inadequate buffer zones, have no apparent scientific basis, lack strong monitoring and fail to protect non-GE farmers from contamination.
