In response to the many emails from students doing school projects, these are answers to the most common questions.
If consumers don't want GM, supermarkets will not buy it, wholesalers will not buy it and the people we arrange to sell our canola can not find enough buyers to sell it to. We will have to lower the price of our canola so that we can try to encourage some people to change their mind.
Canada is the main country that grows GM canola and they used to gain a premium for their canola of around US$30/tonne, we now have a premium for our non-GM canola.
Australia is the main country that sells non-GM canola and if we let some farmers grow GM canola, we will all have to sell as GM canola and it is unlikely that Australia will be able to find markets for all of our canola. We will also have GM canola contaminated other crops such as wheat, barley and lupins and this will cause problems when we sell these products.
This means that some farmers who grow GM will cause a loss of income for other farmers that do not want to grow GM.
--------
Why are GM canola crops an issue?
Consumers are rejecting GM crops because there is little or no independent health testing on GM foods and the method used has the potential to create novel proteins or toxins.
Consumers are rejecting GM foods, markets are refusing GM products and yet, if GM crops are introduced it is too difficult and too expensive to segregate non-GM crops in order to sell to the markets consumers prefer. It is not accepted that those not wanting to grow GM crops will be adversely affected.
What are your views on the issue?
We are against the commercial release of GM crops because we know that the agricultural industry will suffer market loss in a range of products unless there is a big change in consumer attitudes. We are also against the unfair expectation that the non-GM industry is to be responsible for keeping GM crops out of our non-GM crops and that we will be liable when this can not be achieved. There are many other reasons such as the risk that the patent over GM crops will be extended to those that do not want to grow GM crops.
Do you think GM canola crops will eventually become legal in Australian states? Why / why not?
I sincerely hope they will not be legal unless there is adequate risk management in place. If GM canola is introduced without risk management, farmers will be pursuing legal action against the GM farmers and the GM industry. The way the legislation is at the moment, the GM industry has been allowed to manage their own plans for introduction. Of course they do not want to accept responsibility for the damage that their product will cause to the markets of non-GM farmers so they have drawn up plans that will allow GM to gain priority over the supply chain and where the non-GM grower is responsible for trying to keep
GM out. If GM is to be introduced, it must be up to the GM grower to keep GM contained and up to the GM industry to be liable for compensating anyone that is adversely affected by GM introduction.
What do you think the future will hold for GM canola crops?
We already have non-GM chemical resistant canola and we have higher yielding non-GM varieties. It appears GM canola does not offer much at all to farmers except an easier spraying program. I can't see a future for GM canola crops when there is far more potential for non-GM biotechnology to give the benefits promised of GM without the associated risks. There is a real confusion between what is reality and what is only an unsubstantiated promise. There needs to be independent trials done to compare the more common non-GM varieties with the GM varieties to see if there is any benefit but the GM industry have refused to participate.
If a more productive GM canola is developed, there must be enough benefit to counteract the risk and the risk must be carried by the GM industry. Really consumer rejection must abate before risks can be managed. In many cases, no trace of GM is tolerated in our product which is a very serious risk to our markets.
How are GM crops developed?
It is best to look at a more scientific explanation but from a farmers perspective:
The most popular method is using ballistics. A gene construct from a soil bacteria is coated in an invading virus (usually cucumber mosaic virus) and fired in to the DNA of canola. It is certainly not precise as only one in a million attempts is actually successful. The concern is that this process will damage other genes in the DNA causing them to react differently, turn them on or off or influence their future performance. The aim of this process is to achieve chemical resistance so when the plant is sprayed with a chemical such as glyphosate, all the plants (including weeds) die but not the canola plant itself.
-----
What are some of the new GM crops?
Some of the types of GM crops are now quite bizarre as GM allows cross kingdom breeding. The newest is rice DNA with an added human liver gene to give multiple chemical resistance and putting a frog gene in a potato DNA to give a potato skin that can repel virus attacks.
Where are the GM foods produced and who produces them?
The GM companies (eg. Monsanto, Bayer Cropscience) pay scientists to research and develop new GM varieties. When they have a succesful result, the company breeds and bulks up this seed for trial work. This is done by growing the plant and harvesting the seed and replanting that seed. If they have government approval, they can sell this seed to farmers. Farmers plants the seed, the plant grows, flowers and produces seeds which farmers then sell to be used for food. If a farmer grew GM canola (not allowed in Australia), the distinct yellow flowers gradually turn into long pods full of seeds. This seed is harvested and sold. The seed is crushed and about half results in oil that is processed as canola oil and the other half is canola meal used for stock feed.
How do I avoid GM food?
The only GM food grown in Australia is GM cotton and the seed is harvested and used to make cotton seed oil (often sold as vegetable oil). Australia does import GM food and if you want to avoid GM food you must check the label to check if it is marked GM. You may find this for soy, corn and papaya products. Some products are not labelled as GM because it is highly processed such as canola oil or cotton seed oil and sometimes soy is used as a cheap high protein filler in highly processed foods such as chicken nuggets. If you buy Australian you only have to avoid the cotton seed oil.
If you have more school project questions you would like answered and included in this article, please email me:
Julie Newman
