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Free New Zealand in Food & Environment, 11th
November 2004
US Government Report Warns "Mill GM Seeds to Stop Contamination"
A US- government report has warned that immediate milling of imported
GM seed is a necessary safeguard to prevent further contamination
of conventional maize in countries bordering the US.
The report prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
(CEC) of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is the
result of investigations into GM contamination in Mexico- the centre
of biodiversity and origin of the world's original maize lines.
Despite a ban on GM seeds native lines of maize in Mexico have been
accidentally contaminated as a result of illegal seed imports and
cross-pollination in the field. It is understood the NAFTA report
has been suppressed because of the negative impact it will have
on the GM-industry but the findings have been published on the internet.
The report also vindicates African countries who insisted imported
maize for food aid was milled before distribution to prevent it
spreading. At the time some US authorities lambasted aid-recipients
and suggested they "take it or starve" .
"The fact that Mexico has been so widely contaminated signals
again the need to prevent contamination of the food supply and environment,"
says Jon Carapiet from GE Free NZ in food and environment.
"New Zealand's geographical position, cultural values, and
clean-green tourism and export image, makes our role as a GE-free
"ark" more important," says Mr Carapiet.
"Protecting non-contaminated seed production is not just a
vital economic opportunity, it also reflects our duty as a good
international citizen.
"As well as maintaining zero-tolerance for GM contamination
in imported seed, New Zealand should make it mandatory to use leaf-disc
tests as developed by Pacific Seeds to weed out GM seed each season,"
says Mr Carapiet.
Ends
Jon Carapiet 09 815 3370
REFERENCE
http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/editorials/db.cgi?db=default&ww=1&uid=default&ID=341&view_records=1&en=1
Suppressed NAFTA Report Shows Threat to Global Agriculture
Posted to the IUF website 01-Nov-2004
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