1 July 2005
GE cows threaten NZ food supply
An Agresearch proposal for a commercial joint venture production of lactoferrin could see the left over GE milk products
sold to New Zealanders, Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons warned today.
"The lactoferrin extracted from the milk will be only a tiny part - maybe a thousandth - of the total volume. Which begs
the question: 'What does the company plan to do with the rest? Is it planning to introduce the rest of its GE milk into
the public food supply?"
Left over milk from the Ruakura research GE cows currently has to be disposed of on site, but the quantities produced in
a commercial operation will be much larger
"Surely Agresearch doesn't need to be reminded that the New Zealand public remains adamantly opposed to consuming GE
milk products. Fonterra will not touch anything GE so Agresearch would have to create a whole new marketing
organisation, or find a way to dispose of large amounts of GE milk and get approval for that disposal," Ms Fitzsimons
said.
The proposal raises many other questions that need answering.
Åú New Zealand is already the largest world producer of natural lactoferrin from cows' milk. What is wrong with the
current product? What evidence is there that human-style lactoferrin from GE cows would be any better?
Åú It appears that Agresearch will be competing with Fonterra and attempting to undercut its market for natural
lactoferrin. Is this an economic benefit for New Zealand? Are CRIs not supposed to add value to our primary industries
instead of competing with them?
Åú The company claims it has done "extensive testing". Will all the data from these tests be released for public
scrutiny before the products are approved for human consumption? Or will they be suppressed as "commercially
confidential" as so much GE food data has been?
Åú The main opportunity for growth in the international market for lactoferrin is as a health food supplement. If there
are no great problems with natural lactoferrin, what is the likelihood of persuading health-conscious consumers to
accept a more expensive GE product instead?
Åú How many GE cows will be needed? It seems unlikely that Agresearch will be able to produce enough milk to satisfy a
$100 million international market from the small number of cows it can keep in its Ruakura containment facility. Will
Agresearch have to apply for commercial GE release to raise that many cows? That would make it the first application in
New Zealand and will raise huge public debate.
"This proposal flies in the face of the recommendation of the royal commission on GM that food animals and plants should
not be used to produce pharmaceuticals," Ms Fitzsimons said. "The Government has consistently refused to accept this
recommendation.
ENDS