Page - December 14, 2006
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Genetic Modification (RCIGM) occurred in New Zealand in 2000.
Greenpeace cross-examined government and industry witnesses,
made extensive submissions and brought a strong list of its own
expert witnesses from abroad as part of presenting the case for New
Zealand remaining GE Free in food and the environment.
Greenpeace made an oral presentation on the 16 February 2000 in
Auckland District Court.
Royal Commission Report and recommendations
While the Commission recognised the scientific uncertainties of
GE release, Greenpeace believes the Commission failed to adequately
apply the precautionary principle in determining that New Zealand
should "proceed with caution" in allowing the release of living GE
organisms.
The report acknowledged that little is yet known about the
environmental impacts of genetically modified organisms, and in
particular in New Zealand "on the potential adverse effects, or
risks of such effects, on the indigenous biota" (Ch 6, p 142).
The Commission's findings also failed to reflect extensive Maori
concerns and the strong public sentiment in favour of a GE free
environment - with 92 percent of the 11,000 public submissions made
to the Commission opposing GE release.
The decision to allow GE release or not became a political
decision once the report was presented to Government in July
2001.
Enormous public pressure went on the Labour Government to keep
New Zealand GE free including the first of the major GE free
marches held in Auckland City on 1 September 2001.
Despite polls showing strong opposition only a month before, the
Government made no move to halt the scheduled lifting of the GE
moratorium which occurred on October 29, 2003.
However, over three years after the GE moratorium was lifted,
there were still no commercial GE crops grown in New Zealand and
the nations "GE free" production status was now being spoken of by
Government Ministers, officials, farmers and exporters as of
significant value.
The five international experts called by Greenpeace were:
- Anuradha Mittal - Co-Director of the US based Institute for
Food and Development also known as Food First - website www.foodfirst.org
- Bill Christison - Fourth generation US family farmer
- Professor Terje Traavik - A joint witness with Friends of the
Earth and ECO. Professor Traavik is the Scientific Director of the
Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, and Professor of Virology, of
the Department of Microbiology and Virology, School of Medicine,
University of Tromso, Norway
- Doreen Stabinsky - a scientific advisor for the genetic
engineering campaign for Greenpeace US and Greenpeace
International
- John King - Professor of Biology Massachusetts Institute of
Technology