The Soil & Health Association has serious concerns about another GE food line being approved in New Zealand – this time for six food lines derived from potatoes. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the organisation that controls food approvals for New Zealand and Australia, is calling for submissions on an application to permit GE…
5th April 2017 The Soil & Health Association welcomes a change to the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill regarding genetic engineering, but says it still does not go far enough. Yesterday the controversial RLA Bill passed the committee stage, meaning that amendments can no longer be made to the Bill. The Bill is now expected to…
The Soil & Health Association congratulates the Maori Party for standing up for New Zealanders who want to live in a GE-Free community and saying no to Nick Smith’s attempt to ride roughshod over local democracy. “Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox has told the Environment Minister they will not support his attempts to regulate genetically…
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…
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…
New Zealand’s biotech industry is not under threat as a result of a High Court ruling upholding an Environment Court’s decision to give regional councils control over use and release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their district, says the Soil and Health Association. The High Court ruling on Wednesday was based on an appeal…
The High Court has today upheld the ruling that regional councils do have the right to decide on the provisions, policies, and rules regarding the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their region. The Soil & Health Association (Soil & Health) celebrates this landmark decision as a win not only in the fight…
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,…
Whangarei and Far North District Councils received strong support from the community for their proposals to protect their territories from GM releases this week. The Soil & Health Association of NZ and GE Free Northland led a group of 14 submitters, presenting their case at a joint hearing on Whangarei District Council and…
One of the world’s oldest organic organisations is now using crowdfunding to help keep New Zealand’s valuable GE-free status. The Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, founded in 1941, has just launched a Givealittle page to appeal for donations from a wide range of Kiwis who want a clean, green, GE-free Aotearoa. …
Communities should have the right to decide whether or not genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are released or field-trialled in their regions and, if so, whether any conditions should be placed on them, say the Soil & Health Association and GE Free Northland. The two organisations again joined forces with Taitokerau mana whenua and others in…
Experiments to genetically engineer animals in New Zealand over the past 15 years have proven to be expensive and unethical failures, says the Soil & Health Association, and must be stopped. Soil & Health commends GE Free NZ’s report ‘GE Animals in New Zealand’ for providing a clear overview of animal genetic engineering research in…
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…
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…
The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency has been an open advocate of genetic engineering, and therefore has a conflict of interest when it comes to looking after the environment, says the Soil & Health Association. Dr Allan Freeth starts his role as chief executive of the EPA in September. While managing director…
Pressure from the biotech industry for the government to relax laws on genetic engineering will result in a new wave of GE-free activism, the Soil & Health Association predicts. This follows comments from some GE companies, and from the Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf in a speech at Fieldays that New Zealand is missing out…
Media release from the Soil & Health Association and GE Free Northland One of the most important Environment Court decisions this year is the finding that councils can control the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under the Resource Management Act. New Zealand’s oldest organic organisation, the Soil & Health Association, along with GE Free…
New Zealanders can take heart that it is now confirmed that regional councils have the right to make planning decisions about the outdoor use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their regions. Environment Court Judge Newhook determined yesterday that there is jurisdiction under the Resource Management Act for regional councils to make provision for GMOs…
Genetic engineering is again in the spotlight as the Soil & Health Association of NZ and GE Free Northland lead a group of interested parties in support of Whangarei District Council and Northland Regional Council in the Environment Court this Friday. Federated Farmers of NZ lodged an appeal with the Environment Court, opposing precautionary provisions…
The recent election of William Rolleston as president of Federated Farmers could mean a push towards genetic engineering (GE) in farming, warns the Soil & Health Association. Dr Rolleston has for many years been a proponent of GE, and some farmers, both organic and conventional, fear he may use his position to continue to promote…
As people around New Zealand are preparing submissions to their local authorities, the Soil & Health Association is pleased that a recent Environment Court decision sets a precedent which empowers local bodies to protect their communities from the risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Environment Court decision in December 2013[1] allowed the Bay of…