Take off the blindfold and eat!

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Kiwis want to take off the blindfold we have when it comes to buying food. That’s the message of the Soil & Health Association, which welcomes the Consumers’ Right to Know (Labelling of Country of Origin of Food) Bill currently before a parliamentary select committee. The Bill requires all single component foods, packaged and unpackaged, to display their country of origin.

Soil & Health has been campaigning for mandatory country of origin labelling for over a decade, since the government opted out of joining Australia in mandating country of origin labelling under the Food Standards Code on the grounds it would be an impediment to trade. With the exception of wine, country of origin labelling is only voluntary in New Zealand.

“All of New Zealand’s major trading partner countries have country of origin labelling including Australia, the US, the UK, countries in Europe and many Asian countries,”  says Karen Summerhays, spokesperson for Soil & Health.

“While footwear and clothing is required to identify where it comes from, food isn’t. This bill aims to extend that requirement to fresh fruit, meat, fish and vegetables, and other single component foods such as grains, nuts, bulk flour and oil.”

“It’s becoming more common that New Zealanders are wanting to avoid genetically engineered food, food with pesticide residues, or food coming from countries with poor labour conditions, poor environmental and animal welfare standards, but cannot easily choose to avoid products from those countries when shopping here.”

“Pesticide residues in imported food and the health effects of them are an urgent consumer and health issue. Although good labelling exists in some supermarkets, voluntary labelling is often either not working or is poorly utilised, and is definitely not enforceable under the law.”

“Consumers must be able to make their own, informed food choices. Mandatory country of origin labelling is a step towards allowing consumers to do this,” says Summerhays.

There has been widespread support in New Zealand for country of origin labelling. A recent survey conducted by Consumer NZ and Horticulture NZ found that 71% of Kiwis want mandatory country of origin labelling and 65% said they looked for country of origin labelling when they were shopping.

The submission period for the Bill closes this Thursday the 18th of May at 5pm.

Soil & Health is one of the oldest organic organisations in the world and advocates for the consumer’s right to have fresh, healthy, organic food free of GE, pesticides and additives, and the right to know what is in their food and water.

Contact:  Karen Summerhays
Spokesperson, Soil & Health Association
021 043 7858

Safe food policy

Safe food

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There are increasing levels of diet-related health issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. Many illnesses have been linked to food including diabetes, attention deficit disorder, fertility problems, thyroid disorders, obesity, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Aotearoa New Zealand has the third highest adult obesity rate in the OECD and one in ten children are obese. The majority of people in the developed world eats excessive quantities of highly processed pre-packaged foods and have no idea about the number of harmful chemicals they are exposed to every day through the food they eat. Many pesticides have been consistently linked to cancers and other long-term illnesses.

Micronutrients are essential for good health but are commonly lacking or diminished in industrially produced food. This has led to a demand for safe, organic food free of harmful chemicals. There is a growing awareness of food and how it determines health. People are now becoming more aware of what is in our food and demanding to know how it is grown.

The Soil & Health Association believes that everyone has a right to safe food, which covers the right to have food free from:

Microbial contamination, harmful organisms, pesticide, harmful chemical, and heavy metal contaminants, harmful additives, irradiation, and genetic engineering.

Soil & Health believes that government intervention and regulation are required to ensure that everyone has access to a healthy, balanced diet, and the knowledge and means with which to make the best food choices.

Soil & Health supports:

Healthy food being available in all public institutions such as early childhood centres, schools, hospitals, retirement homes and prisons.

Education in schools about healthy diets and nutrition.

A greater emphasis on primary and preventive health care.

Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Food labelling

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To know our food is safe and free from contamination and harmful residues is a fundamental human right. However the right to know exactly what we are eating is often taken away and even routinely denied to us. While growing our own food or buying local and organic food remains the best way to ensure we know what we are eating, we must also know what has been sprayed onto crops and soil, added to foods, and used in the processing of the food we purchase.

Soil & Health is committed to advocating for clear and honest food labelling in Aotearoa New Zealand. We believe that transparent food labelling is fundamental in allowing people to make informed choices.

We stand for:

Country-of-origin labelling.

Labelling of the origin and production method for all meat, eggs and dairy products used in any food, and the source of all seafood. The country where the product is processed should also be identified.

All oils (e.g. palm oil, canola etc.) being specifically declared as an ingredient where used, not just as a ‘vegetable oil’.

Regulations and guidelines on claims about natural, sustainable, locally produced, fairly traded, and organic, being developed to ensure that people are not misled or deceived.

GE foods or foods containing GE ingredients being labelled as including or containing GE ingredients.

Labelling of any irradiated food or food ingredient.

Labelling standards for animal welfare claims.

                                            Photo credit: Nick Holmes

Court ruling highlights the dangers of RMA reforms

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A new court ruling highlights how the Government’s RMA reforms will ride roughshod over public participation in resource management and the power of councils to regulate the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within their territories, says Soil & Health Association chair Marion Thomson.
On Friday the High Court rejected Federated Farmers’ bid to oppose court costs for its failed challenge to members of the public and councils that seek to manage the outdoor use of GMOs under RMA plans. Costs have now been awarded against Federated Farmers for a second time.
“Not only has Federated Farmers now been ordered to pay court costs of more than $10,000 to the Whangarei District Council and the Soil & Health Association, but the High Court found it was not acting in the public interest.
“In fact Justice Peters noted Federated Farmers ‘brought these proceedings because it was in its members’ interest to do so’.
“The National-led Government’s Resource Legislation Amendment Bill will jeopardise local authorities’ ability to manage GMO land use by giving the Environment Minister new powers to override council planning rules.
“These reforms threaten the economic sustainability of a wide range of agricultural export activities reliant on GMO-free status, and would override the ability of councils to respond to community concerns about the planting of GMO crops in their area.
“Friday’s ruling further entrenches the legal rights of councils and communities.
“Environment Minister Nick Smith believes genetic modification should be regulated on a national level by the Environmental Protection Authority under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO), not under the Resource Management Act.
“He is no doubt under pressure from Federated Farmers who choose to ignore the fact that while HSNO controls the introduction of new organisms (including GMOs), it is the RMA which oversees the environment new organisms are introduced into.
“Nick Smith is being mischievous in suggesting the management of genetically modified organisms under the RMA will stop access to the development of GMO medicines. He conveniently overlooks the fact that GMO veterinary vaccines are already permitted under the Auckland Unitary Plan.
“The Minister’s claims that GMOs were only ever intended to be regulated under HSNO have now been found to be wrong by both the Environment Court and High Court.
“Nick Smith must protect the ability of councils to act in the best interests of their ratepayers and local producers by amending his Bill to explicitly exclude using these new powers to regulate the release of GMOs.
“There are huge uncertainties around the adverse effects of GMOs on natural resources and ecosystems. The risks are large and consequences irreversible.
“If GMOs were to be released into the environment, they would be very difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate. There is also potential for serious economic loss to regions marketing their products and tourism under New Zealand’s ‘clean green’ brand,” Marion Thomson says.

Comprehensive New Review of Monsanto’s Glyphosate Underscores Urgent Need for Global Action

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In a “state of the science” review released today, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International presents a large body of research documenting the adverse human health and environmental impacts of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides and underscores the need for these to be phased out globally. Environmental and health advocates say the monograph on the world’s most widely used herbicide, commonly known as Roundup, should serve as a wake up call for regulators, governments and users around the world.

Adverse human impacts detailed in the review include acute poisoning, kidney and liver damage, imbalances in the intestinal microbiome and intestinal functioning, cancer, genotoxicity, endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental reduction, neurological damage, and immune system dysfunction.

Aggressive public relations and marketing by glyphosate’s developer, Monsanto, has resulted in the widespread perception that the chemical is ‘safe’. Registration processes continue to allow its use without raising concerns about its safety even as new data identifying adverse effects emerge.

This review dispels the so-called safety claims and highlights the urgent need to re-examine the authorization of products containing glyphosate. A full chemical profile is presented, along with the regulatory status of products containing glyphosate in many countries and information on viable alternatives.

Glyphosate is included in PAN International’s “List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides” (1) targeted for global phaseout. The global network is calling for the herbicide to be replaced by agroecological approaches to weed management in diversified cropping systems and non-crop situations.

Glyphosate is currently sprayed on numerous crops and plantations, including about 80% of genetically engineered (GE) crops. It is also used as a pre-harvest desiccant, so crops such as wheat have a uniform moisture content at harvest time. This practice results in high glyphosate residues in foods. It is also widely used in home gardens and public places including roadsides, and semi-natural and natural habitats. Due to its widespread use, residues are now detected in different types of foods, drinking water, wine and beer; and even in non-food products derived from GM cotton. The extent of human exposure is confirmed by the presence of glyphosate in human urine wherever it has been tested, principally in Europe and North America. It has also been found in breast milk in the USA.

The 2015 classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen has resulted in widespread concern about its continued use, especially pre-harvest and in public places.

Some countries, including Sri Lanka, Italy and France have imposed a partial ban and/or phase out of the spraying of glyphosate in agriculture and in public areas. The European Union has extended approval for glyphosate for only 18 months instead of the usual 15 years.

Environmental impacts detailed in the monograph are no less concerning, and include adverse effects on ecosystem functioning, pollination services, biological controls, soil fertility and crop health. Residues are widespread in the environment, including in rainwater, surface and ground waters, and the marine environment. Glyphosate can persist in some soils for up to 3 years; and there is some evidence of bioaccumulation.

Resistance to glyphosate is now recorded in 35 weed species and in 27 countries, mostly caused by the repeated use of glyphosate in GE crops, no-till agriculture, and amenity use.

Soil & Health NZ Inc. past co-chair Dr Elvira Dommisse points out that, “the monograph also contains a useful section on alternative weed management and provides information on a wide variety of non-chemical approaches to weed management in various situations. These are people-friendly and environmentally-friendly, resulting in weed management that is benign or even beneficial to ecosystems. We can and should embrace such methods to preserve and restore our soils and waterways and to minimise health risks to human and animals.”

MEDIA CONTACT

Dr Meriel Watts

PAN New Zealand

+64-21-1807830; merielwatts@xtra.co.nz

Dr Elvira Dommisse

021 0575 123 elvira@clear.net.nz

References:

The full Monograph review can be accessed here:  https://pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Glyphosate-monograph.pdf 

Supporting document:

(1)  PAN International’s “List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides”

https://pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/PAN_HHP_List.pdf

Quotes from PAN International representatives:

Keith Tyrell, Director, PAN-UK:

“This new study from PAN International’s team of scientists clearly shows that glyphosate can cause a multitude of health and environmental problems. Our regulators need to wake up and ban this chemical now.”

Dr Meriel Watts, PAN New Zealand:

“The time has come for global recognition of the widespread harm caused to people and the environment from the constant use of glyphosate. For too long regulators have ignored the mounting evidence of damage, hiding behind unpublished studies by Monsanto, which not surprisingly paint a picture of a benign chemical startlingly at odds with reality.”

Fernando Bejarano, PAN Mexico (RAPAM)

“The intrinsic hazards of glyphosate and their use in tolerant transgenic crops are unacceptable if we want to achieve a sustainable food system, so we need a global phase out and a shift in policies promoting instead agroecological alternatives for weed control and crop rotation in diversified crop systems.”

Dr. Peter Clausing, PAN Germany:

“In 2017 the European Chemicals Agency has to decide whether it accepts the compelling evidence for glyphosate’s carcinogenicity and declares it a carcinogen. This would be an overdue acknowledgement of the reality.”

Dr. Emily Marquez, staff scientist, PAN North America:

“The glyphosate mess illustrates the problems with industrial agriculture. Farmers are again trapped on a pesticide treadmill, as widespread adoption of Monsanto’s genetically engineered “Roundup-Ready” crops resulted in glyphosate-resistant superweeds. And yet again, human health impacts of the chemical come to light after years of widespread use. It’s time to shift away from this failing cycle of chemical reliance.”

Jayakumar Chelaton, PAN India

“Every month we get a new story of how glyphosate is harming people in the farms and off farms in rural India. It is clearly damaging people and planet.”

Sarojeni V. Rengam, PAN Asia and the Pacific

“Glyphosate is a highly hazardous pesticide. There are other ecosystem based non-chemical alternatives that do not require the use of such hazardous herbicides.  We therefore urge Monsanto and other agrochemical corporations to stop the production and marketing of glyphosate in order to ensure the health of people and the environment.”

Dr Angeliki Lyssimachou, PAN Europe

“This remarkable compilation of scientific studies reveals that glyphosate-based pesticides -despite what their manufactures’ claim- are far from ‘safe’. Hundreds of non-industry funded studies show that these products are gradually poisoning our people, our environment and its ecosystems. Regulators must stop playing blind and take action to ban all uses of glyphosate.”

GE Free from the Bombays to Cape Reinga

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GE Free Northland and the Soil & Health Association are celebrating the Far North and Whangarei District Councils’ decisions to retain precautionary and prohibitive genetically modified organisms (GMOs) provisions in their new District Plans.  This follows Auckland Council’s recent decision to retain similar precautionary and prohibitive GMO provisions in the new Unitary Plan.  The result of which is a GE Free northern peninsula from the Bombay Hills to Cape Reinga.

Whangarei District councilors voted unanimously last week to protect the community, local economy, and environment from the risks of outdoor uses of GMOs.  Their neighbours in the Far North voted a week earlier to introduce similar rules to their District Plan.

“These decisions, and our recent victory in the High Court, represent a huge win for Northland.  Our elected representatives are to be congratulated for their tenacity and commitment in supporting the aspirations of their constituents and protecting our biosecurity,” said Martin Robinson, spokesperson for GE Free Northland.

In June this year, GE Free Northland together with the Soil & Health Association gathered a panel of expert witnesses, mana whenua, and community representatives, to present evidence to the independent commissioners at the councils’ hearings on GMOs.  Both groups offered strong support for the District councils’ proposed precautionary approach to outdoor GE experiments, strict liability provisions, and outright ban on the release of GMOs.

“This is necessary because of serious deficiencies in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO Act).  Government agencies have a poor track record in containing outdoor GE experiments, and the law has very limited liability provisions for damage” said Soil & Health Chair Marion Thomson.  “The GMO policies they have now adopted are a sophisticated, collaborative, and fiscally prudent response.”

For more than a decade the Far North District and Whangarei District Councils have worked with the Auckland and Northland Regional Councils to plot a path that works for farmers, the wider community, and the environment.  The councils’ decisions to adopt the independent commissioners’ recommendations help protect the Northland region’s GM Free status, biosecurity, economy, and environment by requiring additional local protections that are not required by the national regulator, the Environmental Protection Authority, under the HSNO Act, with an outright prohibition of release of GMOs.

“Environment Minister Nick Smith has tried to portray local bodies as anti-science and anti-progress.  His claims are untrue, unjustly attempting to denigrate the robust course that our councils have charted,” said GE Free Northland’s Chair Zelka Grammer.

Despite the minister’s statements, the global Non-GMO food market is currently valued at US$250 billion, and trends show this is only going to grow.  It is clear that New Zealand producers benefit from access to this huge non-GMO market.

Soil & Health and GE Free Northland combined represent more than 10,000 members and supporters, including primary producers and consumers, both organic and conventional, who want to avoid genetically modified organisms and products made from them.

CONTACT

Marty Robinson

Spokesperson, GE Free Northland

022 136 9619

Marion Thomson

Chair, Soil & Health Association

027 555 4015

Zelka Linda Grammer

Chair, GE Free Northland

022 309 5039

Auckland to stay GE Free under new Unitary Plan

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The Soil & Health Association congratulates Auckland Council on its decision to retain the valuable precautionary and prohibitive genetically modified organisms (GMOs) provisions in the new Auckland Unitary Plan, which protect the Auckland region’s GE-free status.

Auckland Council is now the second local authority in New Zealand to officially become GE-Free in its local plan, after Hastings District Council decided last year to ban all outdoor use of GMOs in their district plan. Auckland food producers, like those in Hastings, can now brand their products as grown in a GE-Free food producing area.

“GE crops pose a serious threat to the investment made by primary producers in their GE-free enterprises,” says Soil & Health Chair Marion Thomson.  “GMOs are not allowed in food or farming according to organic certification standards, and there have been numerous overseas examples of farmers losing their GE-free or certified organic status because of contamination from GE crops.”  Non-GE crops carry a specific market-based premium that GE crops do not command.  According to the 2016 Organic Market Report, New Zealanders are eating and growing more organic produce than ever before.  Award winning Hawkes Bay sheep and beef farmer Simon Beamish recently stated: “As a farmer, exporter, I can confirm that consumers want GM free produce and that market demand is growing.”

Soil & Health, which has advocated for a GM-free New Zealand on behalf of its members and supporters for many years, joined with 26 other submitters to present expert witnesses, mana whenua, and community voice evidence to the Independent Hearings Panel at the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan hearing on GMOs last September.  Soil & Health supported the proposed precautionary approach to GMOs, and in particular outright prohibition of GMO releases.  “Including strong GMO policy and provisions in the final Auckland Unity Plan provides an important acknowledgement of community views and concerns,” says Thomson.

Auckland Council has decided to allow GMO research in controlled environments and the use of veterinary vaccines that contain GMOs as permitted activities, but outdoor field trials and the use of vaccines by people who are not veterinarians are discretionary activities.  Release of GMOs into the environment is a prohibited activity, which would require a plan change before being undertaken.

The new Auckland plan also contains a strict liability provision whereby consent holders for outdoor field trialling of GMOs will be held financially accountable for any adverse effects associated with the activity, for example through contamination, including clean up costs and remediation.  The Council, through the plan, further requires consent holders to provide a bond that would be made available for any costs of adverse effects associated with the activity.  This is important given there are limited liability provisions under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, as identified by Local Government NZ and a large number of councils.  The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible for approving the outdoor use of GMOs in New Zealand; there is, however, no requirement for the EPA to take a precautionary approach to outdoor use of GMOs. One of the most important Environment Court decisions of last year was the finding that councils have the right to control the use of GMOs in their area under the Resource Management Act.  Federated Farmers since appealed that decision to the High Court.  The case was heard in Whangarei in February this year.  The decision from the High Court is yet to be released.

 

CONTACT

Marion Thomson

Chair, Soil & Health Association

027 555 4014

Cows Grazing

Joining forces to clean up food and farming

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The urgency of what’s happening to our food supply has motivated two key organic organisations to join forces. To counter industrial-style factory farming and food production, which is causing environmental degradation and ill health, Soil & Health and BioGro are working together to offer clean, green organic solutions.

The Soil & Health Association (publisher of OrganicNZ magazine)1 and BioGro Society (owner of the BioGro organic certification company)2 are discussing a merger, following the approval by both memberships in July 2015 to explore a variety of options. Both organisations are well established in their own right, and are taking the opportunity to join their expertise and resources and work together to enliven the organic sector.

“New Zealand needs live up to its clean, green image. We urgently need to shift towards high-value, safe, sustainable, GE-free organic farming, for the sake of our health, economy and environment,” said Marion Thomson, co-chair of Soil & Health.

“Organic food and farming can play a major role in countering rising health problems like cancer, allergies, diabetes and obesity,” Ms Thomson said.

“There is a big future for organics in New Zealand, and a strengthened and unified organic sector will highlight our successes and take a leadership role in sharing the solutions to current problems,” says Gaz Ingram, chair of BioGro Society.

“With changing weather patterns, we need robust and sustainable ways of producing food and fibre,” Mr Ingram said.

As consumers increasingly demand clean, safe, GE-free, organic, ethical food and other products, there is a growing need for a strong, unified organic sector that can represent and advocate for consumers and producers alike.

The joint initiative is an exciting opportunity to combine forces and unite the two organisations, whose values and goals are very closely aligned.

A working party which includes members from Soil & Health’s National Council and BioGro Society’s board is developing a strategic direction that will see a refreshed and united organisation that will capture the strengths, skills and resources of both organisations. A plan will go out to all members around March 2016. Members will vote at the AGMs of both organisations in July 2016.

NOTES
1.    The Soil & Health Association is the largest membership organisation supporting organic food and farming in New Zealand. In 2016 it celebrates its 75th anniversary. Soil & Health was founded in 1941 as the Humic Compost Club by New Zealanders who were concerned about degraded soils, increasing refined foods, and the links of both of these with declining nutrition.
It promotes sustainable agricultural practices and principles of good health based on sound nutrition and the motto ‘Healthy soil – healthy food – healthy people’.
www.organicnz.org.nz

2.    The BioGro Society was formed in 1983 by Soil & Health, the Biodynamic Association and the Henry Doubleday Research Association, who saw the need for a credible and internationally respected organic standard and certification process, in order to safeguard the interests of producers and consumers.
The BioGro company (owned by the BioGro Society) is the premier organic certification agency in New Zealand. It certifies and accredits over 600 producers in New Zealand and the Pacific, is accredited to IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) and has an excellent reputation with domestic and export markets.
www.biogro.co.nz

Various Fruits

Celebrating NZ’s first official GE-free food producing region

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Hastings District Council’s decision to ban GE in their district is welcome news, says the Soil & Health Association. The just-released Hastings District Plan prohibits the release and field trialling of genetically engineered organisms, creating the first official GE-free food-producing region in New Zealand, and joining a number of regions around the world.1

“With a regional economy that relies on high-quality horticulture and agriculture and New Zealand’s clean green image, this decision makes sound business sense,” says Marion Thomson, co-chair of Soil & Health.

Retaining and strengthening the district’s valuable GE-free status is important for export and local food production. There is a strong and increasing demand for high-value, safe, GE-free food, and customers are paying a premium for it.

“The Council has acted on the wishes of 85% of the community,” says Thomson, “and the leadership shown by primary producer group Pure Hawke’s Bay has been absolutely brilliant.”
Soil & Health’s submission to the Council, in support of a GE-free district, drew attention to the 340-plus certified organic producers in the wider Hawke’s Bay. Organic producers would lose their certification if contaminated by GE organisms.

Soil & Health has made submissions to several councils around New Zealand in support of GE-free districts and regions. The Association has also invested significant amounts of money from members’ donations and participated in two landmark Environment Court cases.

One of the most significant Environment Court cases of 2015 was one in which Soil & Health and GE Free Northland led a group of section 274 (interested) parties in supporting Northland Regional Council’s precautionary wording on genetic engineering. Principal Environment Court Judge Newhook confirmed that there is jurisdiction under the RMA for regional councils to make provision for GMOs through regional policy statements and plans. [2]

This decision by the Environment Court was pivotal in the final decision made by the Hastings District Council. Soil & Health is supporting many communities around New Zealand – including Auckland Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Whangarei District Council, Northland Regional Council, and Far North District Council – strengthening their GE-free status via district or regional plans.

“The GE-free movement is strong and growing, and community-led, similar to the nuclear-free movement of the 80s,” says Thomson. “New Zealand’s national legislation is inadequate to properly protect communities from the potential adverse effects of GE, so communities are acting to reinforce their existing GE-free status.”

CONTACT

Marion Thomson, co-chair, Soil & Health Association of NZ

027 555 4014

References

Links accessed Sept 2015

1.    https://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/files/all/Proposed%20DP/Plan%20Text/29.1HazardousSubstancesAndGeneticallyModifiedOrganismsDistrictWideActivity.pdf

2.     http://www.organicnz.org.nz/node/1020

Notes

The Soil & Health Association of NZ is the largest membership organisation supporting organic food and farming in New Zealand, and one of the oldest organic organisations in the world, established in 1941. Our aims are to empower people and communities to grow, buy and support locally based sustainable, safe, GE-free and organic food in Aotearoa New Zealand. Soil & Health’s flagship magazine is Organic NZ, produced 6 times per year and sold nationwide.

Maize being poured

Maize spill shows risks of GE seed escape

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New Zealand’s valuable GE-free status is under threat from biosecurity breaches, says the Soil & Health Association. Two spills in New Plymouth last week of maize imported from the USA show how it’s possible for genetically engineered seed to escape containment – and potentially grow.

“Well over 80% of maize grown in the US is genetically engineered, so there is a high likelihood of this seed being GE,” says Marion Thomson, co-chair of Soil & Health. “MPI has claimed that the maize is not GE, but we want to see the documentation, such as certification and test results, to be assured of this.”

New Zealand imports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of seed to be milled for stock feed. Much of it, including maize/corn, soy, canola and cottonseed, comes from countries where these GE crops are widespread.

“Have there been other spills of viable GE seed that we don’t know about?” asks Thomson. “The longer we continue to import this seed, the greater the risks are from contamination, and reputation to New Zealand’s clean, green image and primary exports – including GE-free maize.”

“New Zealand needs to be more self-sufficient and grow more of our own maize,” says Thomson. “Especially in terms of pastoral and dairy farming we need to focus on healthy, biodiverse pastures and reduce our dependence on external inputs.”

Soil & Health agrees with the majority of Kiwis that New Zealand should be GE-free in our food and environment. This is part of a healthy lifestyle, environment and economy based on sustainable, organic farming and growing.

CONTACTS

Marion Thomson,

Co-chair, Soil & Health Association of NZ

027 555 4014