1.Tight security for GM-crop tests - The Press
2.Brassica trial crazy - Soil and Health Association
3.NZ Shooting Self in the Foot - GE Free NZ
EXTRACTS: Dr Elvira Dommisse, a former Crop and Research GM researcher, said the tests were unnecessary.
"I think you've just got to put things in perspective and ask if there's actually a need for it, and there isn't a need for it," Dommisse said. (item 1)
Claire Bleakley of GE Free NZ: "New Zealand Crown Research Institutes are doing the country a disservice by continuing to pursue GE experiments long after they have reached their expiry date in the real world of consumer markets where the customer is 'right'." (item 3)
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1.Tight security for GM-crop tests
By JANINE BENNETTS
The Press, 1 November 2006
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3846168a3600,00.html
Security will be in place to protect field tests for genetically modified vegetables in Canterbury if they go ahead next year.
The Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) yesterday received its first application in three years to field-test a GM crop at Lincoln.
In 2002, protesters trashed three years of research on GM potatoes by the Lincoln-based company Crop and Food Research.
The attack followed an incident in 1999 when the Wild Greens group destroyed a GM potato trial at Lincoln.
Crop and Food Research has applied to field-test brassicas – a class of vegetable including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and forage kale – at Lincoln for 10 years.
The tests would see the brassicas modified for insect resistance with genes from bacillus thuringensis (Bt), a bacterium normally used as a toxin to repel insects.
Crop and Food Research spokeswoman Katherine Trought said the risk of sabotage was always a concern, but field tests had much higher security since the 2002 attack.
"The Erma regulations have changed (since 2002)," Trought said.
"They're much stricter in terms of test security."
Whenever field tests were done, the area was fenced off and had 24-hour surveillance.
Green Party MP and former Wild Greens spokesman Nandor Tanczos said he was no longer involved with the group, which he did not think was still active.
Anti-GM campaigners say the proposal is unnecessary and unsafe.
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the proposed GM crops were unsafe because, if commercialised, cross-pollination would affect all other non-GM brassicas.
"That is an infringement on the rights of other growers to grow GM-free crops," she said.
"There will be the usual issues – that we don't know what other characteristics the plant will have, we don't know what it will do to the food quality, we don't know what it will do to the soil."
Three years ago, Crop and Food Research conducted controversial trials of GM onions.
Fitzsimons said she expected more submissions and a greater public outcry than for the 2003 tests.
Dr Elvira Dommisse, a former Crop and Research GM researcher, said the tests were unnecessary.
"I think you've just got to put things in perspective and ask if there's actually a need for it, and there isn't a need for it," Dommisse said.
Insects always evolved and would become resistant to Bt, defeating the purpose of the modification.
Dommisse said Bt used in overseas GM crops such as cotton left the people working with the plants with respiratory and skin problems.
Dr Mary Christey, the research leader for the brassicas work, said there was no scientific evidence that Bt used overseas had caused health problems or that insects had become resistant. She said the pesticide killed only caterpillars feeding on the GM plants producing Bt and left the plant virtually undamaged.
There were no plans to make a commercial product out of the tests, Christey said.
If the product were made commercially, strategies would be put in place to ensure insects did not become resistant to Bt.
Greenpeace campaign manager Cindy Baxter said Greenpeace was "utterly opposed" to the application. "It poses unnecessary and unquantified risks to New Zealand's economy, environment and public health and it has no benefit."
The application will be publicly notified today and public submissions will close on December 12
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2.Brassica trial crazy
Press Release: Soil and Health Association, 1 November 2006, (Soil & Health Association of New Zealand (Est. 1941); Publishers of ORGANIC NZ)
Crop & Food's intended GE Brassica field trial is even crazier than their existing GE onion trial, according to Soil & Health, and move in the opposite direction to the Prime Ministers sustainability vision.
Potential key drawbacks are:
*Early resistance by pests
*Fast spread of GE brassicas and interbreeding contamination *Contamination of GMO free crops *Loss of markets through contamination *Loss of markets through NZ’s Clean Green image loss *Human and animal health risks
The use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in genetically engineered crops has shown an early build of resistance in pest insects, resulting in the loss of a safe and important tool for many farmers.
Organic producers are able to use Bt and careful use has maintained its benefit without pest resistance. Organic and GMO free producers markets demand products free of GMO contamination.
The current use of Bt poses little risk to humans or stock as the toxin only occurs in the pest caterpillar's gut.
GMO Bt poses risks as the toxin is in every cell of the GM crop including that eaten by consumers and also the pollen and roots.
Brassica pollen travels large distances, the seeds are small and brassicas cross easily, with hundreds of variants in existence. GMO brassicas will be one of the riskiest and dirtiest GMO crops possible.
The use of GMO crops flies in the face of Prime Minister Helen Clark’s vision of New Zealand being in the vanguard of sustainability, with New Zealand being the first truly sustainable nation, said Soil & Health spokesperson Steffan Browning.
A truly sustainable nation will have no part in GM crops or stock.
Crop & Food's is a State Owned Enterprise whose persistence with experimenting with many vegetable and flower crops that are creeping into field trial applications is contrary to New Zealand's Clean Green image.
Crop & Food are experimenting with a number of brassicas and also tomatoes, cucurbits, onions, asparagus, orchids, cyclamen, snapdragons, pelargoniums, violas and others in their laboratories. A lot more than most are aware of, according to Browning.
"It is time to stop these experiments if there is no serious expectation to grow in New Zealand. New Zealanders have clearly stated that GM crops are not wanted."
ENDS
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3.NZ Shooting Self in the Foot If GE Trials Allowed
Press Release: GE Free NZ, 1 November 2006 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0611/S00001.htm
GE Free NZ believes the application submitted by Crop and Food to ERMA for a field trial on GM cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli should be withdrawn, or stopped by the New Zealand government.
Given the international rejection by consumers of GE foods the application must be regarded as foolhardy and economically unsound, especially in light of the Prime Minister's call for New Zealand to be a leader in sustainability to protect our international markets.
The EU and Japan have effectively closed their markets to GM imports in response to the public demand for non-GM food. New Zealand's brand -reputation will be threatened by government-funded institutes pushing down the GE path rather than investing in research into production of clean and natural food that consumers actually want.
"Consumers do not trust GM and the main way it is being sold at all is through deliberate deception and keeping customers in the dark. Even most US shoppers agree with people from around the world that they do not want to be eating unlabelled GE food sneaking into their food-chain," says Claire Bleakley of GE Free NZ.
"New Zealand Crown Research Institutes are doing the country a disservice by continuing to pursue GE experiments long after they have reached their expiry date in the real world of consumer markets where the customer is 'right'."
GM crops that have been genetically modified with the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene can make them deadly to catterpillars and butterflies. But over the last ten years pests and diseases have been becoming resistant to the inserted insecticide and in some cases target insects are again damaging the GM crop.
"This is short-term thinking that is coming home to roost, and it is poorly conceived science that is to blame" says Jon Carapiet from GE Free NZ.
"The toxin produced by Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a common organic insecticide. When used as a spray, it is non- toxic and easily washed off. However, when the Bt gene is inserted into the plant, the Bt toxin is expressed in every cell and cannot be washed away. It has proven to have a very different environmental effect over time."
The particular crops under threat are also particularly concerning given the brassica (cabbage) family is highly promiscuous. Wrightsons conducted a detailed study on brassicas and discovered that "crosses occur between all species and sub species within the genus" and "seedlot contamination with all brassica species is common but visually difficult to detect". Wind, insects, animals and farm workers can all spread the seed and pollen, resulting in cross-pollination of other cultivated or weedy brassicas.
" While the rest of the world is moving to assisted classical plant breeding techniques using genetic markers to assist, Crop and Food is wasting scarce R&D money on a GM product that no one wants" says Claire Bleakley.
"However, most concerning is that overseas experience has started to reveal how the GM techniques being used can negatively impact the health of animals and people. There have been deaths recorded in animals eating Bt foods and severe adverse effects observed in people handling and living near Bt crops."
A ten year study in Australia on peas (Pisum sativum) genetically modified to contain a gene from the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Tendergreen) resulted in detrimental effects on the health of laboratory rats. The mice developed antibodies specific to the protein, hypersensitive skin response, airway inflammation and mild lung damage.
"Are we to understand that the Government has gone mad with its budget surplus that it will allow its CRI to jeopardise the health of New Zealanders and agricultural economy of the farming sector by allowing GM broccoli,cabbage and cauliflowerfield trials? "
GE Free NZ requests that the government call in the Crop and Food the application.
ENDS
References:
Wrightsons submission to MAF on protocol for seed testing."Brassica Cross pollination", Dr Stewart Gowers, Forage Brassica breeder, Crop and Food Research.
RI Vazquez Padron et al (1999) Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis induces systemic and mucosal antibody responses in mice. Life Sciences, 64, 1897-1912.
A Pusztai (2001) Genetically modified foods: are they a risk to human/animal health? http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html (and in press).
Impact of Bt Cotton on Farmers’ Health (in Barwani and Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh) Investigation Report, Oct - Dec 2005, www.GMWatch_org.htm
Mortality in Sheep Flocks after grazing on Bt Cotton fields, – Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh,Report of the Preliminary Assessment, April, 2006 www.GMWatch_org.htm
Chowdhury EH, Kuribara H, Hino A, Sultana P, Mikami O, Shimada N, Guruge KS, Saito M, Nakajima Y. Detection of corn intrinsic and recombinant DNA fragments and Cry1Ab protein in the gastrointestinal contents of pigs fed Genetically modified corn Bt11. J. Animal Science 2003, 81, 2546-51
Vanessa E. Prescott, Peter M. Campbell, Andrew Moore, Joerg Mattes, Marc E. Rothenberg, Paul S. Foster, T. J. V. Higgins, and Simon P. Hogan*, Transgenic _Expression of Bean -Amylase Inhibitor in Peas Results in Altered Structure and Immunogenicity, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2005, vol 53 (23), p 9023-9030.
ENDS
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