[Greens-Media] Second season of GM Canola brings new contamination fears

[Ian Cohen]

Ian Cohen MLC
Media Release                                                          
          
Tuesday 4 August 2009 

Second season of GM Canola brings new contamination fears 

Greens MP Ian Cohen is calling on the Primary Industries Minister, Ian
Macdonald, to hold multinational agribusinesses such as Monsanto liable
for contamination of conventional canola crops from genetically modified
canola.  
 
“Minister Macdonald is a key advocate of managing genetically
modified organisms in our environment through industry self regulation.
With the GM patent owners in charge of preventing contamination of
conventional canola through industry self regulation, it makes sense
that the patent owners should be liable for contamination,” says
Greens MP Ian Cohen 
 
“We don’t want farmers turning on each other in vicious litigation
over GM contamination. Often farmers lured to use GM technology are done
so on false promises of increased yields and find themselves locked into
onerous technology user agreements that hijack a farmer’s ability to
manage their farm. If the large agribusiness is so confident they can
prevent widespread contamination similar to that witnessed in Canada
then they shouldn’t have a problem with wearing liability for
contamination.”
 
“ After National Variety Trials in Horsham and Forbes last year
showed conventional canola outperform GM on yield, the large
agribusinesses are now sending their PR machine into overdrive to
compensate for poor GM performance. Increasing sales of GM Canola will
not be a result of farmers finding merit and performance in GM Canola
but a result of creating market disincentives for conventional
canola”.
 
“Since the lifting of the moratorium on GM crops by the NSW
Government in 2007, the Minister has given free rein to GM proponents to
create market disadvantage after market disadvantage for conventional
canola growers. When asked during question time whether the Minister
thought it was fair that conventional canola growers should pay $2.50 a
tonne to Graincorp for testing and segregation of conventional canola,
the Minister blundered through a nonsensical response about which
multinational agribusinesses he had discussed the matter with,” say Mr
Cohen.    

 If the Minister does not intervene to create the necessary safeguards
against contamination and put in place adequate liability rules I will
proceed with a Private Members bill, the Gene Technology (GM Crop
Moratorium) Amendment (Right to Damages) Bill 2009 which will place
liability for GM contamination on patent owners.

More information: Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466