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Free New Zealand in Food & Environment, 31st
October 2004
Seed Purity Laws Vital to Protect NZ's Future
Stronger legislation to protect the supply of pure seed for agriculture
is vital to New Zealand's future. The New Zealand government should
also be supporting other nations to create a global system to protect
the integrity of seed supply. This should include refusing patents
on seeds.
"We need to keep ourselves free of GE so that we can provide
other countries as well as ourselves with clean seed that can be
kept and regrown each season," said Claire Bleakley of GE Free
(NZ) in food and environment
In recent weeks the International press has reported that Iraq,
the bread basket of the Middle East and the original source of wheat,
has beeen subjected to US legislation that makes it illegal for
farmers to save their seed.
International watchdog GMWatch has asked "is the US putting
legislation in place in Iraq in preparation for commercialising
GE wheat there and to gain a foothold in Asia?"
Indian farmers
in Andra Pradesh have also suffered failure of GE cotton witrh resulting
farmer suicides because of debt to agi-business.
Argentina a country known as the bread basket of the world has now
become a 'GE soya' basket-case. Millions of hectares of GE soy monoculture
now spread over the once fertile flood plains.
"The soya barons have removed fences, drinking wells for cattle,
and windmills. The soya monoculture is driven only by the reduction
of costs and the increase of profits, at the expense of natural
resources," says Claire Bleakley.
Aerial spraying with Glyphosphate, 2.4D, Paraquat and endosulfan
over the GE soy fields are causing serious health problems, such
as cancer, birth defects and spontaneous abortions. In the small
towns surrounded by the green desert of soya, some of the fumigation
aircraft do not even switch off their fumigators when flying over
urban areas, exposing the population to such hazardous chemicals.(GRR,
2004).
However, NAFTA has recognised the dangers of GE contamination in
Mexico, the genetic origin of corn, and has recommended that GE
crops should not be planted there.
"It is imperative that we keep our environment pure and free
of GE in any form. In the year since the lifting of the moratorium
the public have become more concerned over the prospect of GE entering
New Zealand and more positive about supporting an organic future,"
says Claire Bleakley.
"New Zealand can once again lead the world as a GE Free nation
and should re-introduce a moratorium on GE release" she says.
" We are being warned by three major continents, Europe, South
America and Asia not to follow in their footsteps. It is time to
listen."
ENDS
Claire Bleakley (06) 3089842
References:
Some Environmental implications of the American Free Trade Agreement,
http://www.cec.org/files/pdf/ECONOMY/engmaize_EN.pdf
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture
csa@csa-india.org
GRR Rural Reflection Group, 11 of October 2004, grupodereflexionrural@hotmail.com
rtierra@infovia.com.ar
Bt Cotton Fails Yet Again: An Independent Assessment of Bt Cotton,
after farmers facing severe losses went on a rampage in Warangal
district
DA
relaxes posture on GMO products, Wenna A. Berondo, The Freeman (Philippines),
October 22, 2004
Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits
and Plant Variety Law of 2004, CPA Order No. 81, 26 April 2004,
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents
_Law.pdf
GRAIN, "FAO
declares war on farmers, not hunger", New from Grain, 16 June
2004, http://www.grain.org/front/?id=24
GM WATCH daily
http://www.gmwatch.org
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