New Zealand's Lucky Escape After GE Trial Breach

New Zealand's Lucky Escape After GE Trial Breach (19 March 2009)

New Zealand has had a lucky escape after MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) found that no escape of GE pollen or contamination of honey is likely to have occured following flowering of GE brassica at the site of the experiments in Lincoln.

In the report issued by MAFBNZ (below), officials say that analysis of both hive locations and bee behaviour, relative to the scant flowering activity at the site, made contamination extremely unlikely, and that brassica pollen will have only travelled a few metres.

"The results of the investigation has to be taken as good news, but only luck has saved New Zealand from a significant threat to our exports and reputation," says Jon Carapiet form GE Free NZ in food and environment.

But it is clear the threat to New Zealand from accidental GE contamination is not being taken seriously enough, and that it is time to halt field trials in this country.

A full enquiry into the organisation and how a breach was ever allowed to happen must be conducted. The final outcome should look at whether the organisation should have its permit to plant GE crops rescinded, and at the national benefits of restoring the moratorium on GE commercial release.

No testing of honey or other brassica plants in the area has been conducted, but the livelihoods of beekeepers and farmers living locally have been put at risk.

This incident is a wake-up call for all New Zealand's agricultural, horticultural, organics and honey industries. All these sectors are exposed to financial risk. In the absence of strict liability legislation requiring a bond and acceptance of responsibility by those pushing GE commercialisation, the costs of harm including costs of cleanup and lost exports will fall on innocent farmers and beekeepers to prove.

The commercial threat to New Zealand from GM contamination is well established, and exporters have already had shipments of contaminated products turned away. The push to promote GM animals and crops outside of full containment and credible ethical standards is a clear risk to New Zealand's economic wellbeing.

All New Zealand farmers and food exporters benefit from our reputation for safe, clean, GM-free, and natural production systems. The government needs to immediately act to follow our EU markets and install a moratorium on field tests while creating a sustainable and ethical biotechnology strategy. Investment of valuable research funds into more sustainable conventional and organic systems of production will benefit New Zealand, rather than benefits accruing to overseas speculators.

New Zealand's sustainable biotechnology strategy should include: an end to all external field trials; a commitment to best-practice ethical applications of science; establishing strict liability on those undertaking GE trials or commercial ventures; requiring a bond to be paid to cover clean-up costs and commercial losses resulting from those ventures.

ENDS

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