Food derived from genetically modified organisms, which has been approved for consumption by New Zealanders and
Australians, is safe, the Chairman of the Life Sciences Network, Dr William Rolleston, said today.
“Greenpeace is scare mongering when they try to persuade people to the contrary.
“GM foods are the most thoroughly tested for safety of any new foods on the market. It takes at least 9 years to get
food from a genetically engineered plant onto the supermarket shelf. All food derived from GM are tested for toxicity
and allergenicity and then thoroughly assessed, by independent agencies, before consumers get anywhere near them.
“The proof of the pudding, so to speak, is, despite strenuous attempts over the last 15 years to prove otherwise, none
of the opponents have been able to come up with one sustainable case where an approved GM plant or food has actually
posed a risk to humans or animals.
“The Life Sciences Network has never approached these issues blindly, unlike the opponents of GM. We have consistently
argued for case-by-case assessment to assure public confidence in the regulatory process. The Royal Commission
thoroughly examined all the evidence put forward by Greenpeace and still came to the conclusion that the regulators
acted independently and professionally in their duty to preserve the public interest.
“No amount of trying to reinvent the facts or the history will change the fact that Patrick Moore made a very powerful
case to the Royal Commission and despite strong cross examination was unshaken in his testimony.
“As a founder of Greenpeace he is in an unique position to comment about the ways in which that once-proud organisation
has been de-railed and led down the garden path in its misguided campaign against gene technology,” concluded Dr
Rolleston.
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