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GMOs pose $59 billion threat to NZ economy

9 April 2013/in GM, Media Releases, Organic Community

Inevitable cross contamination by GE crops, if released in NZ, pose a 59 billion dollar threat to the NZ economy and ratepayers whose councils have failed to protect them against risk,” says Debbie Swanwick, Soil & Health – Organic NZ.

That is the total dollar value of our agricultural, forestry, fisheries and tourism sectors, agriculture being worth thirty billion dollars, forestry, five billion, fisheries, four billion and tourism twenty billion. (8) (9)

“Auckland Council is one council who has failed to protect ratepayers , despite an InterCouncil working party (ICWP) recommendation that suggests they adopt a plan change to include a precautionary approach to GMO release in their Unitary plan. (1) In contrast Whangarei District Council adopted the ICWP recommendations,” says Swanwick. (2)

The ICWP is made of up of Auckland Council, Far North, Kaipara, Whangarei District Councils and Northland Regional Council (who did not participate in this project). (4)

Based on eight years of public engagement, a section 32 analysis and legal opinion, the ICWP identified a total lack of liability provisions under current legislation. (4)

“Under Whangarei’s plan change, GE applicants who would easily clear the hurdle of the EPA in Wellington will have to prove financial fitness, post a substantial bond and be personally and financially liable for”unintended or unforseen” adverse impacts of EPA approved GE experiments,” says Swanwick.

“Auckland ratepayers will pay the ultimate price on behalf of councillors who have made this decision based on an issue (GMO’s) rather than a process. It is their remit that they protect ratepayers from risk regardless of the issue. That kind of decision making is not impartial or considered but leaky buildings all over again,” says Swanwick.

A 2010 Price Waterhouse report estimated between 42,000 and 89,000 homes in NZ would be categorized as ‘leaky homes’ costing between 11.2 and 22 billion to repair. (6) Roger Levie of the Home Owners and Buyers Association says they expect these figures are light and forecast that as many as 150,000 homes will be affected, costing over $35 billion. “That equates to around $8,300 coming out of the pocket of each New Zealander because Government and Councils failed to protect them against this risk,” he says. (5)

A case currently pending in the Western Australia Supreme Court involves an organic farmer, Steve Marsh, who lost his organic certification in 2010 when 70% of his farm was cross contaminated with his neighbors GE canola. Marsh’s legal fees are expected to cost $250,000 and he is requesting compensation for his economic loss in perpetuity. The case is expected to be decided in the next few months and could set a precedent in NZ law(3)

“As Monsanto are funding the GE farmer in this case (it is probable big Agri-tech will always fund these defences), and with the recent legislative change in the US dubbed the “Monsanto Protection Act’, in future councils and governments will be the only organizations that can be sued. (11) This behavior has already begun in Europe,” says Swanwick. (7)

In 2011 the legal organisation Justice & Environment sued the EU Commission over the release of the Amflora GM potato. (10)

In March President Obama signed H.R. 933, a continuing resolution spending bill that gives immunity to biotech coporations such as Monsanto, from litigation should their GE crops every be proved unsafe. (12) Senator Roy Blunt drafted the rider, the pro-Monsanto “Farmer Assurance Provision, Section 735” of the bill, in consultation with Monsanto. (14)

Says Zelka Grammar of GE Free Northland “We salute the strong leadership that Whangarei District councillors have shown in their decision. It’s unfair for those who want to experiment with GMOs to expect others to “carry the can” for the harm caused to other farmers, the environment or the public health.”
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 and water free of GE, pesticides and additives and their right to know what is in their food and water. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata. To learn more about what is really in your food and/or find guidelines on making a submission opposing Auckland Councils decision to not protect the region against GMO release visit our Facebook page and subscribe http://www.facebook.com/OrganicNZ

Submissions close on 31 May 2013.

Photo caption: A Supreme Court ruling in October 2012 opened the way for commercial property owners to sue councils for leaky building syndrome.

The judgment was delivered in the Supreme Court in Wellington, holding the Court of Appeal shouldn’t have struck out a claim by the owners of the building Spencer on Byron in Takapuna, that the-then North Shore District Council only had a duty of care to residential buildings. The body corporate claimed the city had been negligent and was liable for the cost of repairs.
Chief Justice Sian Elias and Justices Andrew Tipping, John McGrath and Robert Chambers found in favour of the body corporate. (13)
To view online click here www.organicnz.org.nz/node/647

References

(1) http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/planspoliciesprojects/plansstrateg…

(2) http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/northland/bay-chronicle/84488…

(3) http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201107/s3279923.htm

(4) http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/newseventsculture/OurAuckland/medi…

(5) http://www.stats.govt.nz/tools_and_services/tools/population_clock.aspx

(6) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=1084…

(7) http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2011/02/03/monsanto-vs-australian-organic-farm…

(8) http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Fisheries+at+a+glance/default.htm

(9) http://www.mpi.govt.nz

(10) http://gmwatch.eu/latest-listing/1-news-items/12854-eu-commission-sued-x…

(11) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/apr/04/monsanto-protecti…

(12) http://rt.com/usa/monsanto-bill-blunt-agriculture-006/

(13) http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/auckland-council-delays-bond-offer-after-co…

(14) http://www.workers.org/2013/04/07/monsanto-protection-act-chemical-monop…

New movie explains why we are fat and starving

26 March 2013/in Food, Health, Media Releases

“Hungry for Change is a new movie that unleashes the diet industry’s biggest secret – it is sugar that makes people fat and it is in everything especially low-fat diet products” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson – Soil & Health – Organic NZ. Most of the fructose from sugar is metabolized by the liver. There it gets turned into fat, which is then secreted into the blood. (3)

A recent University of Otago-led study commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends cutting down on the sweet additive should be part of a global strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic. The study published in the British Medical Journal suggests sugar-laden drinks are of particular concern because of the ease in which they are consumed. (5)

More than $60 billion is spent each year on diet and weight loss products in the US alone yet America has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world. (1) Currently 35.7% of adults are obese, but The Center for Disease Control predict that by 2030 the obesity rate in the US will reach 44 percent. (2)

“Increasing obesity rates when we have such a huge spend on diet and weight loss products worldwide doesn’t add up until you learn what the food industry doesn’t tell you” says Swanwick.

Mike Adams, editor of the Natural News Network explains. “Our food manufacturers have designed food to be addictive. Artifical sweeteners whilst containing no calories stimulate your desire for carbohydrates and MSG, found in 80% of processed food, is well documented as the product fed to lab rats to make them fat”

Sugar, through its metabolisation by the gut and hence the brain, is extremely addictive, just like cigarettes or alcohol believes former head of the US governments most powerful food agency, the FDA, David Kessler. (4) Chef Jamie Oliver also has some emotive commentary to add. Talking about sugar in milk he says “any judge in the whole world would look at the statistics and the evidence and they would find any government of old guilty of child abuse. That’s my belief”. (6)

“This movie is a must see to get your health back on track and confirms our position on why you should eat organic whole foods” says Swanwick.

‘Hungry for Change’ is free to view until 31 March at www.hungryforchange.tv/free-screening.

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 their right to know what is in their food. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata. To learn more about what is really in your food subscribe to their Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/OrganicNZ

Photo caption: “Our children are predicted to have a life expectancy ten years shorter than our own because of the bad food in our modern society” says Debbie Swanwick – Spokesperson, Soil & health – Organic NZ

To view online click here www.organicnz.org.nz/node/623

References

(1) http://www.hungryforchange.tv/free-screening

(2) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/us-obesity-us-idUSBRE88H0RA201…

(3) http://authoritynutrition.com/4-ways-sugar-makes-you-fat/

(4) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/11/why-our-food-is-making-us…

(5) http://m.otago.ac.nz/news/otago040898.html

(6) http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

GE labeling begins in the US

19 March 2013/in Food, GE, Media Releases

Consumer demand has resulted in the eighth largest food and drug retailer in the US demanding GE food be labelled. Whole Foods Market, announced last week that their 5000 plus suppliers (6) will have to conform by 2018. (4)

In 2012 Whole Foods Market turned over US$11.6 billion.

Over 50 countries in the developed world require that GE food be labelled. (4) The US and Canada are amongst the few developed countries still denying consumers the right to know what is in their food. (3)

The campaign ‘Just Label it’ states that 90% of US consumers want GE food labelled. (5)

Despite this last year Proposition 37 in California lost at the polls by less than 3%, following a $45 million ad campaign paid for by Big Agri-tech and food giants opposing it. (2)

In 2012, ninety three percent of soy, 88 percent of field corn, 94 percent of cotton and more than 90 percent of canola seed and sugar beets planted in the United States were genetically engineered. (1)
“The move to label GE in the US signals the end days for companies like Monsanto who are losing their grip on control of our food supply. If they lose the US market, they will be knocking harder on our door, but New Zealanders will never sell out their values and allow untested, inferior GE crops, that consumers don’t want to be grown here” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson – Soil & Health – Organic NZ.

The US Organic Consumers Association is requesting that Whole Foods implement the change by 2015. (3)

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 their right to know what is in their food. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata. To learn more about what is really in your food subscribe to their Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/OrganicNZ

Photo caption: “An apple a day will keep the doctor away, but only if it is organic” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ. “Food is medicine. Good food equals good health. The nutritional value of apple makes it useful for digestion, stomach disorders, anaemia, weakness, dental care, dysentry, heart disease, rheumatism, eye disorders, cancer, gout, and skin care”.

References (Links accessed March 2013)

(1) http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/03/whole-foods-to-require-labeling-of…

(2) http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27169.cfm

(3) http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/geneti…

(4) http://www.rodale.com/whole-foods-and-gmos

(5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TghIpBG5o3s

(6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBVi3tH0Fqs

Organic farmers cope better in drought

15 March 2013/in Farming, Media Releases, Organics

“The recent suggestion from Federated Farmers vice president William Rolleston to allow genetically engineered ryegrass into NZ to alleviate the drought is outrageous and factually inaccurate,” says Debbie Swanwick, spokesperson for Soil & Health – Organic NZ.

“Rather than going down the risky GE path, farmers will do better using sustainable organic practices,” Swanwick says. A 2007 study led by Ivette Perfecto, of the University of Michigan, showed that in developing countries, where the chances of famine are greatest, organic methods could double or triple crop yields. (1) This is also supported by a similar study conducted by the United Nations in 2010. (3)
“To take advantage of farmers in their time of need by force feeding them incorrect science is not protecting the interests of those that you are supposed to represent – it is betraying them,” Swanwick says.

GE crops have no proven resilience in drought conditions but instead introduce multiple risks and problems. Last year the failure of the genetically engineered Bt corn crop put over 70% of America’s corn at risk. The rootworm, now resistant to the Bt protein, prevents corn roots from absorbing water. “The situation became agricultural suicide in the middle of last year’s drought in the US,” says Swanwick. (2)
By contrast, Soil & Health – Organic NZ is getting reports that organic farmers in the North Island are generally doing better in the drought than their conventional counterparts. Armed with better soil structures and water-holding capacity, the use of a diversity of pasture species including deep-rooted species like chicory that withstand drought better, and tree crops and shelterbelts, they have been able to protect their animals and their incomes. Some are even capitalizing on their investments by selling baleage for additional stockfeed which is now in high demand.

“In the absence of Federated Farmers giving their members all the facts, we will. The success of NZ internationally is built on farming and our farmers and to undermine them and their investment is scandalous, especially when your remit is to protect this sector,” says Swanwick.

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 their right to know what is in their food. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata. To learn more about what is really in your food subscribe to their Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/OrganicNZ

References

(1) http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/organic-can-feed-the-w…

(2) http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/12658-drought-and-su…

(3) http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/organic-can-feed-the-w…

Race on for NZ to be world’s first 100% organic food producer

8 March 2013/in Food, Media Releases, Organics

New Zealand has a decade to clean up its act if it is to be world’s first 100% organic food producer. Bhutan recently announced its intention to claim the title and be pesticide free in the next ten years if we fail to do so. Now the race is on.

“This is an accolade that should be our own,” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ. “The rest of the world holds our clean, green image in high regard and we should live up to that expectation. As a country we are also renowned for our ability to lead the way for other nations and do the right thing first, whether giving the vote to women or declaring to be nuclear free. Being the first 100% organic food producer would align with these philosophies and label what New Zealanders value,” says Swanwick.

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is bordered by China and India, both strong trading partners to New Zealand. With a population of just over 700,000, mostly Buddhist and two-thirds of whom depend on farming for their livelihoods they have an enviable approach to economic development, centred on protecting the environment and focusing on mental well-being.

“Bhutan has decided to go for a green economy in light of the tremendous pressure we are exerting on the planet,” said Agriculture Minister Pema Gyamtsho last year.”If you go for very intensive agriculture it would imply the use of so many chemicals, which is not in keeping with our belief in Buddhism, which calls for us to live in harmony with nature.”

Organic certifier BioGro’s CEO Michelle Glogau says “We strongly believe that organics should be the standard rather than alternative way of growing, processing and trading in New Zealand – for wellbeing of our environment and communities and animals. The ongoing success of our certified-organic producers is proof enough that consumers in New Zealand and around the world want more of what we (organics) have got.”

The 2010-2012 Organic Market Report, commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) reports that in 2012 the NZ organics export market grew by 25% from 2009 to $220 million dollars in 2012. Between 2007 and 2012 the total land area under organic certification increased by 67% and our export market now accounts for 77% of the the total organic sector.

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 their right to know what is in their food. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata.

Soil and Health Association applauds new organic research report

1 March 2013/in Media Releases, Organic Community

New Zealand’s oldest organic organisation, and publishers of Organic NZ , the Soil & Health Association – Organic NZ, is delighted with the growth in the number of organic producers and consumers over the past three years.

“The results in the latest organic market research report* show that organics is definitely moving from the fringe into the mainstream,” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ.

Soil &Health – Organic NZ has sponsored a new section in this year’s report,which covers the organic community sector. “Our National Council was delighted to be able to offer their support to such worthy research” said Ms Swanwick.

Garden writer Christine Dann has contributed research results on the remarkable rise in organic community gardening in the past five years. Especially remarkable is the fact that community garden numbers have quadrupled in Christchurch over the past decade.

“For these communities to be self reliant has been especially valuable following the earthquakes. Christchurch has set an example to the rest of New Zealand as to why food security is so important with changing environmental conditions and contaminants in mainstream supply” says Swanwick.

The National Council of Soil & Health – Organic NZ will all be attending the launch of the New Zealand Organic Market Report 2012 in Wellington on March 6.

The report is a major milestone which gives the organic sector and the general public a clear and positive message about the growth of organics in New Zealand which is line with the global trend.

“We are heartened by the growth in the community, marae, school, early childhood and home gardening sector which reflects the growing awareness of the importance of safe, healthy and nutritious food from local sources” said co-chair Marion Thomson.

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 their right to know what is in their food. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata. Free information on what’s really in your food is available on their Organic NZ magazine facebook page.

New Zealand Organic Market Report 2012
To be launched in the Grand Hall, Parliament House
on Wednesday 6 March, 9-10.30am

Consumer backlash shows 100% pure way forward for NZ economy

11 February 2013/in Food, Media Releases, Organics

Fonterra’s lack of transparency and the finding of dicyandiamide (DCD) residues in milk last September has caused a huge consumer backlash in international and financial markets.

Consumers around the world want clean, green, 100% pure,GE-free and organic products. New Zealand needs to embrace this and meet the demand, rather than continuing with environmentally damaging farming and unwanted residues in food, according to Debbie Swanwick, spokesperson for the Soil & Health Association – Organic NZ.

“There is an opportunity here for Fonterra to set a benchmark on the international stage and show other NZ producers how we can become a leading world economy whose strategic advantage is the purity of our food. Organics is the key to our future.. Consumers are clearly stating by their response to milk contamination that they want clean, safe milk,” says Swanwick.

New Zealand’s biggest dairy importer, Taiwan, raised serious concerns over the DCD issue (2) and dairy sales in all markets nosedived. A NZ exporter, Biopure Health, selling NZ made infant milk formula in China, reported sales fell to zero after Fonterra made the announcement. (1)

Statements in the Chinese press such as ‘NZ milk is poisonous’ and a Wall Street Journal article questioning the safety of NZ’s milk further exacerbated the PR nightmare for Fonterra.(1). The Chinese market is already sensitive to milk contamination following the 2008 melamine scandal. (1)

“Fonterra is now also being judged by the financial markets with subsequent losses hitting NZ shareholders – the largest group being NZ dairy farmers,: says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ.

Fonterra’s shares have fallen from $7.30 on the day of the public announcement of the DCD issue to $6.95 this week. Questions are now being asked as to why government officials were not made privy to the issue at the time of its discovery or why prospective shareholders were not informed prior to Fonterra’s launch on the NZX. (3)

In 2010 Fonterra announced that it would expand its organic milk supply but, in a surprise move in 2011, made the decision to reduce its separate collection of organic milk. This resulted in the loss of premium price for affected organic producers and the mixing of their milk in with the main supply. (2)

“We urge Fonterra to rethink that decision and live up to New Zealand’s clean, green, 100% pure reputation by encouraging organic dairy farming” says Swanwick.

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 their right to know what is in their food. Oranga nuku, oranga kai oranga tangata.

References

(1) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=1086…
(2) http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/organic-milk-solution-dcd-fears
(3) http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/business/8260564/Coverup-concern-wh…

Decision makers chicken over egg debate

1 February 2013/in Farming, Food, Media Releases

“Revised legislation phasing out battery cages over ten years and introducing colony cages in NZ does little to curb animal welfare issues -we are just putting more birds in bigger cages” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokeperson – Soil & Health – Organic NZ.
Colony cages house 60 chickens in a 3 metre cage (1) versus battery cages where 3 or 4 chickens live together. Both options give each hen a space to live in smaller than an A4 sheet of paper and both options prevent them from expressing their normal behavior. (6)
SAFE’s executive director Hans Kriek says 80 percent of New Zealanders want battery cages banned (4). “That is not surprising, New Zealanders care about how their food is grown” says Swanwick.

“The continuation of cages is shortsighted as New Zealand consumers and animal advocates will simply not accept colony battery cages. The fight against this cruelty will only stop when all cages are gone” says Kriek.

“In the absence of decision makers refusing to support consumers concerned about animal welfare and deliver the best product available to them, the only option is for consumers to vote with their wallets” says Swanwick.
Although a better option than battery, colony or barn laid eggs, unfortunately there is no industry certification for ‘free range’. The only guarantee therefore that a hen is not confined in a cage, able to display normal behavior, able to adequately exercise and can roam outdoors is to buy organic. (3)
“People can also choose to buy direct from the farmer which oftentimes is cheaper than store bought” says Swanwick.
Under the new Code of Welfare for Layer Hens (released December 2012) standard barren battery cages will not be banned until 2023 and will then be replaced with colony cages (2).

“This attempt to improve the lives of these hapless caged layers fails miserably and still contravenes the Principles of the Animal Welfare Act. For a Government that professes that ‘Animal Welfare Matters’, I can see no proof of that in this meagre attempt to walk the talk” says Bob Kerridge, President, Royal New Zealand SPCA.

Swanwick cites recent legislative changes to be prejudicial. “Sow crates in NZ will be banned by 2015 (although farrow crates will not) for contravening animal welfare codes but the same rights have not been afforded our feathered friends” says Swanwick. (5)

“Our politicians seem to be chicken over chickens. You can count on the fact that pork will taste better in future but it still must leave a bad taste in the mouths of politicians who sold out on chickens whilst protecting the welfare of pigs ” says Swanwick.

Soil & Health is one of the oldest organic organisations in the world and advocate for the consumers right to have fresh, healthy, organic food – GE, pesticide and additive free and their right to know what is in their food. Oranga Nuku, Oranga Kai Oranga Tangata.

References

(1) http://www.suekedgley.com/article/no-future-hens-cages
(2) http://stopfactoryfarming.org.nz/takeaction/
(3) http://www.safe.org.nz/stop-factory-farming/layer-hens/egg-labels/
(4) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10691325
(5) http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Battery-hens.

Virtues of raw milk hit the big screen

25 January 2013/in Farming, Media Releases

A film espousing the virtues of raw milk has hit the big screen at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

‘The Moo Man’ premiered in the World Cinema Documentary category and tells the story of Stephen Hook, who saves his family farm by turning his back on the cost cutting dairies and supermarkets to sell raw milk to consumers. (2)

“It’s about farmers earning a better living by concentrating on quality above quantity to serve consumers the best available. It is no surprise that the raw milk story has hit the big screen in a big way – It is one of the biggest cover ups of all time” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson – Soil & Health – Organic NZ.

Filmed over four years on the marshes of the Pevensey Levels, England, Hook and his father run Hook and Son Dairy in partnership with Longleys Farms and espouse the virtues of raw milk claiming it can help cure eczema, lower blood pressure and keep cholesterol at bay. (1)

“The New Zealand consumer experience tells us drinking raw milk does far more. People often talk of children not having allergic reactions to raw milk despite being diagnosed as lactose intolerant, having improved immunity and being cold free for years. We are stripping the goodness out of raw milk by pasteurising it” say Swanwick.

But Swanwick says “big industry advocates constantly compromise the message by touting raw milk as unsafe. If that were the case we wouldn’t sell raw eggs, meat or chicken” she says.

“NZ organic farmers go above and beyond the safety requirements of government with milk being tested daily and raw milk farmers spending ten times as long cleaning cows udders versus conventional farmers. Pasteurisation was bought into NZ in the 1950’s to deal with poor hygiene standards. Organic farmers commit to taking the time to ensure those standards are met versus using a tool that can cover up the issue if they are not” says Swanwick.

Hook and his father produce 6,000 pints (3420 litters) of milk a week from their 55 cows that live 3-5 years longer than non-organic cows. Their stress free life and the good care shown them by their owner, Hook says is to blame. (1)

The story highlights perhaps the greatest issue for NZ however – England is usurping us in raw milk production. The NZ Ministry of Primary Industry’s guidelines suggest that only 120 litres of raw milk per farmer per day be sold to consumers, milk from approximately six cows delivered to 20 customers a day – 25% of what Hook is selling in England. (3)

“That would make it uneconomic for NZ raw milk farmers to keep producing” says Swanwick. “It is about time NZ reclaimed its glory as the leading dairy industry in the world and gave it’s people the best there is (or at least the choice) with guidelines that support our farmers to make it financially viable to do so. Anything less is a sell out for the NZ consumer and the NZ farmer”.

Soil & Health is one of the oldest organic organisations in the world and advocate for the consumers right to have fresh, healthy, organic food – GE, pesticide and additive free and their right to know what is in their food. Oranga Nuku, Oranga Kai Oranga Tangata.

References

(1) http://abcnews.go.com/Health/moo-man-premieres-sundance-celebrating-heal…

(2) http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55641731-223/film-moo-cows-f…

(3) http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/farm-gate-raw-milk-sales…

GM salmon claims just a fish tale

27 December 2012/in Food, GE, GM, Media Releases

“The recent announcement by the FDA that GM fish are safe to eat and will not adversely affect the environment is nothing more than a fish tale” says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health – Organic NZ.
Her comments follow the FDA’s claim that it could not find any valid scientific reasons to ban the production of GM Atlantic salmon, which could result in a commercial release soon.

“They can’t find the evidence because their testing is only conducted over 90 days, but a recent long-term study shows the evidence questioning the safety of GMOs is there. What is disappointing is that scientists not charged with protecting human health and the environment are raising the red flag” says Swanwick.

The release of a report in September this year by a Professor of micro-biology at Caen university, caused such a furore that the French government asked the National Agency for Health Safety (ANSES) to investigate the finding which could result in the suspension of GM maize NK603 in the European Union. (1)

Gilles-Eric Séralini, proved that rats fed over their lifetime (2 years) a diet of Monsanto’s Roundup-tolerant GM maize NK603, or exposed to Roundup over the same period, developed higher levels of cancers and died earlier than controls. The results, he explained, were due to the endocrine-disrupting effects of Roundup, and overexpression of the transgene in the GMO. (2)

Unfortuantely no long-term toxicological testing of GMOs on animals or testing on humans is required by any regulatory agency in the world. (3)

“That is not good enough when human health is at risk” says Swanwick.

The report ‘GMO Myths and Truths’ released in June of this year by three genetic engineers, details the evidence against genetic engineering.
http://earthopensource.org/index.php/reports/58″
“Genetic modification is not selective breeding as publicity on the subject is implying. It is a process whereby DNA is damaged when one gene is inserted into another, impacting the foodchain and causing human health and the environment to be impacted negatively ” says Swanwick.

“Suggesting native, endangered Atlantic salmon populations will not be threatened by the release of sterile GM salmon is preposterous especially when the New Zealand experience proves otherwise. Human error is always a possibility and in 2007 it was this that just about bought down New Zealand’s agricultural system” says Swanwick.

Crop and Food (now part of Plant and Food) received approval to trial GE brassicas that would produce an insecticide (Cry) gene. This trial, conducted at a secret location in Lincoln, breached regulatory controls after four months, when a flowering plant was discovered in 2008 from unchecked regrowth and publicised by Soil & Health. The breach was so serious that Plant and Food and MAF-Biosecurity NZ closed down the trial site. (4)
Only genetically modified plants have been commercially released overseas. Genetically modified atlantic salmon will be the first animal of its kind to achieve the same claim to fame.
“A lot of research money is spent achieving this end. Daisy the GE cow with her low allergy milk and no tail cost the NZ taxpayer $50 million but New Zealanders have no appetite for GM products and certainly do not stomach their money being wasted by people with their own agenda” says Swanwick. (5)
Soil & Health is one of the oldest organic organisations in the world and promote fresh, healthy, organic food – GE, pesticide and additive free and advocate for consumers rights around food. Oranga Nuku, Oranga Kai Oranga Tangata.

References (Links accessed December 2012)
(1) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=108…
(2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/28/study-gm-maize-cancer
(3) http://earthopensource.org/index.php/reports/58″
(4) http://www.gefree.org.nz/assets/pdf/brassica-reassessment.pdf
(5) http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/7903851/Fears-cloned-cow-Daisy-is-udderly…