Posted on 23-7-2003

GE Action Update July 2003

Kia ora koutou,

The March in Wellington was huge and colourful with fantastic speakers. We
had lots of fun! There have been a lot of press releases about GE from
round the country in the last couple of weeks and a lot is going on
internationally. Don’t forget about the GE Free Hui coming up in Auckland,
and to get a submission in about proposed filed trials of GE onions…MMP ­
100 Owen Street, Newtown, Welly. melmaibpete@lycos.com

1 RESOURCES / ACTION IDEAS:

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*HSNO / RMA / COUNCILS:
’This
www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/hsno-rma-training-manual-jun03/ is a link
to a new document on the MfE website about the links between HSNO and the
RMA. Thought it might be relevant to local authorities if part of their
role regarding GE organisms is through their consideration as hazardous
substances.

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*PETITION
‘It's time for New Zealanders who oppose the lifting of the GE moratorium
to stand up and be counted. A poll on 13 July showed that 54% of us want it
to remain in place, and only 39% agree to it being lifted. I want that 54%
of the population to have a chance to register their protest so I have
started a nation-wide petition. It is also available on www.madge.net.nz
[or email melmaibpete@lycos.com]

The government has seen street marches attended by thousands, received many
hundreds of submissions, and other communications, all giving the message
that New Zealanders don't want the moratorium lifted, but it seems that
with the date of the moratorium closing in on us, it is time to make one
last effort to show the extent of public opposition towards GE release. The
petition has already received support from existing groups working against
GE such as MAdGE, GE-Free NZ, Greenpeace, the Green P arty, and others.
Please distribute widely… Phone me any time to discuss this. I am doing the
petition as an individual, not as a representative of any group.
Susan Grimsdell (09) 377 8789, 021 163 7219, 10F, 1 Emily Place, Auckland 1001

Some good ideas for collecting signatures are:

-go to fleamarkets where there are crowds of people who are usually relaxed
and have time to stop and sign. Give blank forms to anyone who expresses
strong interest so that they can take the form and distribute it to their
contacts, or else take it to their work and get signatures.

-spend an hour or so at rush hour at places where there is a traffic jam,
getting signatures from drivers and also asking them to take blank forms if
they think they can distribute them.

-visit local shops, businesses, libraries, school staffrooms, asking if you
can leave a few copies of the form for people to sign. When leaving forms
in public places, such as shops, make a clipboard by cutting out a piece of
cardboard A4 size and attaching the petition forms to it with a rubber band.

-look in the yellow pages and pick out businesses you think might be
interested, and fax a copy of the form to them.

-collect signatures in busy streets, at sports or other public events,
anywhere where there are crowds of people.

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OPEN LETTER TO BUSH To sign / read see
greens-efa.org/pdf/events/LabelGMFood/index_EN.php/

’Dear Mr President,
The European Union is about to approve laws on the mandatory labeling of
genetically modified food and feed. The idea behind these laws is both
deeply democratic and market oriented; to let people make their own choice.
When the laws come into force Europeans will be able to ma ke an informed
choice. When they choose a product to buy they will see if it contains GM
ingredients or not…..

Mr President your country is called the 'land of the free'. But to be free
means to have a choice, and only informed people can make a good choice. In
a spirit of solidarity we believe that Americans should have the same right
as Europeans will now have under our GM labeling laws * the right to
choose. Give your people a choice, Mr Bush: label GM food…..’

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*THE GE INFORMATION BULLETIN An independent digest of widely-sourced
information relevant to the GE debate No. 13 June/July 2003
www.geinfo.org.nz/062003/bulletin13.html

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*INDEPENDENT SCIENTISTS REPORT
From Wellington: ‘I believe this Report is THE baby that will secure us
no commercial release ... we really need to rub the governments' noses in
it, esp while David Bellamy is here supporting it.’View at:
www.rense.com/general38/indep.htm or summary of it ...
www.i-sis.org.uk/ispr-summary.php

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2. NEWS AND ACTIONS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

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* GE FREE NATIONAL STRATEGY HUI - AUCKLAND, 25 ­ 27 JULY 2003 The Auckland
GE-Free Coalition will be hosting a conference for all Anti-GE activists
from around the country. The focus will be on developing strategies for
campaigns to prevent the lifting of the moratorium in October.
Dates: Friday, 25 July 2003, 7 pm: Public Meeting. Speakers: Jon Carapiet
(GE Free NZ), John Clearwater (Physicians and Scientists for Responsible
Genetics) and others.

Saturday, 26 July, 9 am ­ 5 pm: Sessions and workshops, followed by social
evening

Sunday, 27 July, 9 am ­ 4 pm: Sessions and workshops

Venue: Trade Union Hall, 147 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Cost: Approximately $20 for both days. Billets available.Lunch will be
provided on Saturday and Sunday, pot luck dinner on Saturday evening.

For more details and to register, phone (09) 358 4105 or email:
gefreehui@yahoo.co.nz

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*GE FREE MARCH-WELLINGTON: The march on Saturday, July 19th, 12 noon went
fantastically well. A huge crowd of people (estimated 2000 ­ 500) converged
on Wellington from the Hawkes Bay, Plamerston Nor th, the Kapiti Coast,
Levin, the Hutt and the Wairarapa. MAdGE was there in force with badges
callore and there was a strong presence from Animal Rights Activists, the
Green party, the Alliance, mums and dads, kids, colorful folk, students and
other people. The march was lead by the fabulous Brass Razoo band and it
was definitely one of the best placarded and bannered marches Wellington
has seen for some time!

Kara from Madge, Te Anau from Aotearoa Educators, Sue Kedgley from the
Greens, Steve Able from Greenpeace and Sam Buchanan from Harakeke Eco
Collective talked on the day and reminded us of how diverse the GE issue is
and that internationally we are winning. Thanks HEAPS to everyone who
helped out on the day and before hand and thanks from the Wellington
Collective to all those who came from near and far. Check out this link for
more info and pictures, and keep an eye on Contact next week.
www.indymedia.org.nz/front.php3?article_id=9385&group=webcastfrom

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*GE FREE COUNCILS: www.kaipara.govt.nz/media.php?p=1&m=180

‘The Kaipara District Council has decided to limit the release of
Genetically Engineered Organisms within the Kaipara District after the
lifting of the moratorium which is due later this year…“This is a bold move
for a conservative rural Council” according to MayorGraeme Ramsey. “Two
years ago such a decision would have been rejected but today the level of
concern is so great that there was little doubt that something needed to be
done.”

"This is a momentous decision. We recognise and accept the need to provide
leadership. We hope in doing so to stimulate the debate on the subject that
is needed within our community", said Mayor Ramsey….’ Contact: Graeme
Ramsey 025 748202, 09 439 566 email: mayor@kaipara.govt.nz

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*GE SHEEP:Hamilton, July 16 NZPA - The Scottish biotech company behind the
world's first cloned sheep has confirmed it will slaughter sheep carrying
human genes farmed in Waikato…. PPL said yesterday it was to slaughter up
to 3000 genetically modified sheep at its two farms in Scotland, but had
not confirmed how many of the Whakamaru flock, made up of about 3000
genetically modified sheep and 1000 normal sheep, will be killed.
"Unfortunately, placing the AAT programme on hold has also meant that
PPL can no longer support all its AAT sheep flock, and work is under way
to reduce sheep numbers on its farms in both Scotland and New Zealand," a
PPL spokeswoman told a Scottish newspaper… Hamilton-based AgResearch's
commercial arm, Celentis, has expressed interest in taking over the
Whakamaru operation. However, chief executive Stewart Washer said it was
"early days" and it had to first get backing from both PPL and its partner
Bayer. PPL has to tell the Environment Risk Management Authority (Erma)
before it slaughters any genetically modified sheep, and the slaughter must
be carried out according to strict Erma rules. The sheep with human genes
would have to be incinerated while the normal sheep must be buried on site.

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*ERMA REVIEW: Greens Press release July 2: ’The ERMA Review paints a
damning picture of a dysfunctional organisation, incapable of handling the
responsibility of approving GE organism releases, Green Co-leader Jeanette
Fitzsimons said today… The report’s main criticisms of ERMA include poor
oversight by ERMA of the conditions placed on GE approvals, poor
accountability, and skewed weighing of evidence. It also notes serious gaps
in essential skills, including gene technology, ecology, ethics and
environmental effects assessment.Criticisms also include ERMA giving
preference to information from applicants over submitters ; and having a
flawed operational structure that undermines staff efforts and rejects
alternative views. The report notes, among many other concerns, that:
‘Monitoring is presently weak; tardy
reports are common and errors have gone undetected.’…“This is the
organisation the Government is totally relying on to protect us from harm
when it says we have ‘the strictest regulatory system in the world’. ERMA’s
systemic failings now show that statement to be nonsense.“The New Zealand
public deserves much better than this - and will demand it. ERMA is clearly
not an organisation to which we can entrust decisions about the release of
GE organisms into our farms, forests and environment,”
Ms Fitzsimons said.The ERMA review team reported to the Government in
March, which raises questions over why the Government has waited three
months to release it.’
Email melmaibpete@lycos.com for a fuller outline of the ERMA review’s main
criticisms of ERMA and for quotes from the re port itself that support Ms
Fitzsimons’ summary.

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*LABELLING / 'RIGHT TO KNOW' BILL The latest GE 'corntamination' scare has
prompted Sue Kedgley to release a private member's bill which will enable
consumers to identify which foods on sale in New Zealand contain or are
made from GE. Ms Kedgley's Bill will go into the next ballot for private
member's bills. "The latest incident
has highlighted how confusing and unsatisfactory our current GE labeling
regime is.

"What most New Zealanders don't realise is that 20 GE commodities,
including seven diff erent types of GE corn, have been approved for sale in
New Zealand. These GE commodities are used as ingredients in processed
foods containing soy, corn, canola, or cottonseed oil. GE potatoes and
sugarbeet have also been approved. Most of these ingredients don't have to
be declared on a label because our labeling laws are so inadequate."

Ms Kedgley said the labeling regime in the Bill was based on strict new
labeling laws that the European Union has adopted. A similar Bill to Ms
Kedgley's will be introduced by Australian Green Senators, in the hope that
the joint approach will persuade Food Standards Australia New Zealand to
move towards comprehensive GE labeling of all food….’ Contact Greens for
details of GE products that may be in our supermarkets now or soon and full
press release. Sue Kedgley, MP: (04) 470 6728 or 027 270 9088 Ali Tocker
(press secretary): (04) 470 6723 or 021 528 067