Mark Freeman
The passing of the Gene Technology Bill into law will make New Zealanders “human guinea pigs,” GE-Free New Zealand warns.
The bill is a move by the National Party to end the three-decade ban on gene technology outside the laboratory in New Zealand and introduce a gene technology regulator by the end of this year. Public submissions on the bill have closed, and the second reading of the bill is expected in the next few months.
Science Minister Judith Collins said last year that the bill would “improve health outcomes, adapt to climate change, deliver massive economic gains and improve the lives of New Zealanders.”
However, Claire Bleakley, president of GE-Free New Zealand, says the bill was written “by industry for industry and it will only benefit the people who are directly involved.”
The legislation will exempt many genetically engineered organisms, including food, from labelling and safety tests, she says.
“We are human guinea pigs. This is fake food and we have to be aware that the trials of gene-edited foods have never ever been tested on an animal or for human safety.”
In the early days of genetic engineering companies did feeding trials with animals but the results were so dismal and led to many animal deaths that testing stopped in 2007.
Another major concern is that the organic farming industry is under threat from the bill. Containment of genetically engineered organisms on farms is impossible, Ms Bleakley says; GE-free farmers rely on not having any contamination, which could happen with “even a slight breeze”.
“If this stuff escapes and affects nature, then we have got a disaster on our hands.”
She claims it will also affect New Zealand’s export markets. According to an NZEIR report, the country could lose $10–20b of export demand annually and 100,000 agricultural workers could be lost which could “collapse the regions”.
She is asking for the bill to be withdrawn and rewritten or amendments put into existing legislation, the Hazardous Substance and New Organisms Act 1996. She is also asking people to sign Lisa Er’s petition, which aims to halt the Gene Technology Bill and set up a commission of enquiry. The petition closes on 17 June.
You can watch an interview with Claire Bleakley here.
