Ms Hobbs wake up call press release
Pizza contamination has everything to do with GE moratorium and threatens billion-dollar clean green brand
Auckland, 7 July 2003: Greenpeace is astounded at the Environment Minister’s attempts to separate the latest corn
contamination discovery from the Government’s intention to lift the moratorium on GE release in four months time.
In today's New Zealand Herald, Hobbs said that the case had nothing to do with the moratorium and wouldn’t give her
sleepless nights.
Steve Abel, Greenpeace's GE campaigner said, “This contamination is a wake up call to Ms Hobbs and has got everything
to do with the moratorium. Once you release GE into the environment it spreads in unpredictable and uncontrollable ways.
MAF are still baffled as to how this has happened and that is exactly why GE should be kept in the lab.”
“New Zealand is the most export dependent economy in the OECD - so it is disastrous news for our multi billion dollar
clean green brand. This contamination wasn’t discovered in New Zealand, but turned up on a pizza in Japan. The
government may think it’s alright to ignore its own people’s preference for being GE free, but to ignore crucial markets
like Japan who are demanding GE free produce is economic suicide,” Concluded Mr Abel.