Australia: Genetically Modified Grass for Dairy Cows Sparks Concern
June 24th, 2014The issue with GM crops polluting neighboring farms in Australia is particularly grim.
See: Steve Marsh:
The future of organic and non GM food in Australia is uncertain after a WA farmer today lost his legal battle with a neighbouring farmer.
Steve Marsh lost organic certification on his Kojonup farm – and most of his livelihood – when his farm was contaminated by GM canola. He sued his neighbour in the WA Supreme Court for his losses, and to protect his farm into the future.
Via: The Age:
A plan to feed Australian dairy cows genetically modified rye grass designed to boost milk production has sparked concerns from both organic and non-organic farmers.
Opponents of the scheme fear that GM grasses could contaminate neighbouring properties and that existing labelling requirements would not allow consumers to identify products made from cows fed on the modified rye.
Greg Paynter, of the Organic Federation of Australia, said the role of GM grasses in the food chain was “a sleeping giant”.
“We’ll have humans consuming milk from cows that have been consuming genetically modified material. We just don’t know what effects we might have to deal with in the future.
“They’re talking about scientific testing but the natural processes and ecosystems have been tested over 3 billion years.”
Ben Copeman, general manager of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia, said while organic producers had to follow strict labelling requirements, the same rules did not apply to products with GM crops in their food chain, potentially leaving consumers unaware. Mr Copeman also said many of Australia’s important grain customers, such as Japan, China and Korea, did not want GM in their food chains and had zero tolerance to GM contamination.
I contributed to his legal fund and hope he can take this to the High Court. I’m a bit cynical about WA’s justice system and wonder if he might’ve fared better in another state.
@Dennis – I did as well and was quite disappointed not only in his case, but the wider ramifications. I really don’t know how anyone can follow these legal battles and not be cynical about the justice system. It does seem unfortunate that this case was in WA.