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Public consultation on genetically engineered crops inadequate - extend review says Greenpeace
August 12, 2009
Submissions are required by close of business this Friday. Louise Sales, Genetic Engineering Campaigner with Greenpeace says: “The introduction of GE crops would dramatically change the face of agriculture in Western Australia, yet the Government has barely publicised its current review of its Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Act and has given the public just four weeks to lodge submissions.”
In its submission to the review, Greenpeace will argue that the reasons for the introduction of The Act, and the moratorium on GE crops, are stronger than ever and that the ban should stay in place. Independent polling by Newspoll last year shows the majority of Australians are less likely to eat food if they know it contains GE ingredients. Similar attitudes exist in our key export markets Europe and Japan.
During the past two years WA exports to the European Union have increased significantly, accounting for 90 per cent of exports. Canada has almost completely lost its canola exports to Europe as a result of adopting GE canola and WA stands to do the same if it allows the introduction of GE canola.
The level of public concern around GE food is hardly surprising, given that there have still been no long-term studies conducted on the health impacts of eating GE food. And those studies that have been conducted in animals give cause for concern. For example, when Monsanto fed GE Roundup Ready canola to rats (the same canola that WA’s agriculture minister Terry Redman proposes be grown commercially next year), they showed a 12-16% increase in liver weight (Click here for Judy Carman’s summary of the health concerns regarding GE foods. Dr Carman is a former senior epidemiologist to the SA government).
Greenpeace is calling for the WA Government to extend the submission period to give the public sufficient time to make their views on this important issue known.
In its submission to the review, Greenpeace will argue that the reasons for the introduction of The Act, and the moratorium on GE crops, are stronger than ever and that the ban should stay in place. Independent polling by Newspoll last year shows the majority of Australians are less likely to eat food if they know it contains GE ingredients. Similar attitudes exist in our key export markets Europe and Japan.
During the past two years WA exports to the European Union have increased significantly, accounting for 90 per cent of exports. Canada has almost completely lost its canola exports to Europe as a result of adopting GE canola and WA stands to do the same if it allows the introduction of GE canola.
The level of public concern around GE food is hardly surprising, given that there have still been no long-term studies conducted on the health impacts of eating GE food. And those studies that have been conducted in animals give cause for concern. For example, when Monsanto fed GE Roundup Ready canola to rats (the same canola that WA’s agriculture minister Terry Redman proposes be grown commercially next year), they showed a 12-16% increase in liver weight (Click here for Judy Carman’s summary of the health concerns regarding GE foods. Dr Carman is a former senior epidemiologist to the SA government).
Greenpeace is calling for the WA Government to extend the submission period to give the public sufficient time to make their views on this important issue known.
For further information or comment
Vivienne Reiner, Greenpeace Media Advisor: 0432 352 132 Further information on the review and how to make a submission can be found on the WA Department of Agriculture website: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au.
