Government Research Agenda Goes Against New Zealand Brand
The Ministry of Environment's research into promoting greater use of novel organisms is off-stategy for the New Zealand
Brand and shows an intention to dilute bio-security standards.
The planned research is not aimed at identifying ethical and contained applications of biotechnology, but at promoting
more new and modified organisms, including Genetically Engineered organisms, in the open environment.
"They are working against a brand strategy for ethical applications of new organisms in containment. They have forgotten
gorse, and possums, and the refusal by the Insurance industry to cover GM organisms," says Jon Carapiet from GE-Free NZ
in food and environment.
The abolition of the Bio-Ethics Council means there is also no moral compass guiding The Government which risks
abandoning the New Zealand Brand for free trade. The Ministry's research questions betray an agenda to relax rules and
could be aiming to weaken our gold-standards for purity and zero-contamination for GM seed.
The MfE research is described as "/aiming to// better understand the real additional net benefit New Zealand might gain
from any future changes in the regulatory regime," /and "/whether //the level of compliance cost faced by applicants is
appropriate."/
The proposed research may be be one of a series of studies apparently aimed at justifying the environmental release of
GE organisms in New Zealand.
In April 2011 The University of Otago Marketing Department released a report claiming to show no harm to the New
Zealand brand from growing GE grass, or from introducing nuclear power stations or moving to even more intensive
animal-farming.
The MfE research aimed at release of new organisms is misguided. Research funds should be being spent on understanding
the needs of clean-green businesses and in keeping our environment and food exports low-pesticide, GE-free, and
organic.That is what our markets and the New Zealand public expect.
ENDS