30/10/2010

GE pine tree information seriously flawed

" The GE pine tree hearing set down for 9th November should be postponed
until the information supplied by the applicant, Scion, is able to be
independently
verified" says Susie Lee of GE Free NZ,

" The application and evaluation report is riddled with poor and
misleading information that is not at all scientific and opens the
country's economy and environment to serious risk".

The Crown research institute Scion are applying to grow 4000 GE pine trees
in a field trial in a secret site in Rotorua, the heart of commercial
pine plantation research. Previous secret GE sites have been found to be
seriously in breach of their controls and GE free believe it is a public
right to know where trials are being condiucted even if it is to keep the
inspectors and trial operators honest.

" How are 4000 trees going to be monitored in safety when 40 GE trees could
not be properly looked after nor the facility fences kept secure?" says Ms
Lees.

The application is littered with erroneous and unscientific assertions,
where it is projected that pine pollen only disperse for 300 mtrs. GE
Free NZ has only just received a summary of data on Horizontal Gene
Transfer (HGT) which was reported by the applicant as not occurring. The
recieved summary data is so badly corrupted that no conclusions could be
deduced and expert assesment was unable to make any evaluation at all. Is
this why it was not submitted for scientific inspection with the
application?

GE Free NZ wonder why ERMA has not picked up these annomolies in the
evaluation and review reports of this application.

"The conflicts that plague regulatory Authorities are not new but it
severely compromises the protective role they have to play in looking
after public good. We hope that the ERMA hearing committee is not riddled
with the conflict of interest that caused the previous chair of the ERMA
GE decision committee to resign or the latest revelation that the European
Food Safety Authority chair has
been on the boards of GE corporations.

ENDS
Jon Carapiet 0210507681
Susie Lees (03) 543 2341

References;

Scion GE Trees Application ERMA200479: To field test in containment Pinus
radiata with genetic modifications to alter plant growth/biomass
acquisition, reproductive development, herbicide tolerance, biomass
utilisation, wood density and wood dimensional stability.
http://www.ermanz.govt.nz/Find/WebResultsDetails.aspx?ID=1422

Resignation of ERMA Chief Still Leaves Conflict
April 16, 2010 GE Free NZ
http://business.scoop.co.nz/2010/04/16/resignation-of-erma-chief-still-leaves-conflict/

EU food safety chief forced to quit GM lobby role
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/654446/eu_food_safety_chief_f
orced_to_quit_gm_lobby_role.html

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