GM food crops get taken off the menu

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons and Megan Saunders

April 02, 2004

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9161388%255E30417,00.html

PLANS to grow genetically modified food crops in Australia 
are on hold indefinitely, after the NSW Government ruled out 
a 3000-hectare trial of GM canola.

The shock decision came a week after Western Australia imposed 
an outright ban on GM food crops, and Victoria extended its 
moratorium for another four years. 

NSW Agriculture Minister Ian Macdonald vetoed the 3000ha 
commercial trial, despite his own GM advisory committee 
recommending it go ahead. 

Mr Macdonald said there would be no coexistence trial of GM 
crops for at least another year, but he would allow three 
small scientific trials covering a total of 420ha. 

"It's a good balanced decision - it will enable the farming 
community to evaluate what benefits, if any, there are," Mr 
Macdonald said. 

"By taking a cautious, staged approach, NSW is neither ruling 
out the potential of this technology nor jumping in without 
more science to guide us." 

The decision is a major blow to chemical giants Monsanto and 
Bayer, who wanted to plant enough GM canola to fill a single 
shipping container, in an effort to ease farmers' concerns 
about coexistence with non-GM agriculture and possible 
rejection by consumers. 

Monsanto had no comment yesterday, but Bayer CropScience 
BioScience general manager Susie O'Neill said coexistence 
trials were essential and she was "very disappointed" by the 
decision. 

The federal regulator approved Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola 
and Bayer's InVigor canola as safe for human health and 
consumption last year, but final approval rests with the states. 

The NSW decision blocks possible commercialisation of GM canola 
in the short term, as Tasmania and South Australia also have 
moratoriums, and the climate in Queensland and the Northern 
Territory is too warm to grow canola crops.