Wed 12 May

Maize investigation ludicrous, LSN says Investigating a discovery of imported maize seed containing a very low level of genetically modified material is a huge and unnecessary drain on MAF's resources, Chairman of the Life Sciences Network Dr William Rolleston said today.

"It seems ludicrous that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry must go to enormous expense to chase up this issue, when there is no evidence that GM is harmful to humans or the environment. Surely MAF's time and expertise would be much better spent protecting New Zealand from real threats, such as BSE and the painted apple moth.

"Events such as this will happen again and again while New Zealand continues to have a zero tolerance policy for the presence of GM. Scares being whipped up by the Green Party and other anti-GM activists do more damage to our international reputation than a sensible tolerance policy would," Dr Rolleston concluded.

ENDS

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