Posted on 4-11-2003
GM
onion details kept secret
By Monique Devereux, NZ Herald, 04.11.2003
The commercial benefits of a field trial of genetically modified
onions
and the name of the secret partner involved have been kept under
wraps at
a Government hearing. Crop & Food Research has applied to
the
Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) to begin field
trials of
the onions which it wants to run over 10 years at a secret location
near
Lincoln.
It wants to assess the impact of the onions, which have been
designed to
be resistant to Roundup, and says the outdoor trial is required
to test
their effects in a normal environment. Field trials like the
Crop & Food's
project were not covered by the moratorium lifted last week
and have been
allowed to continue. The scientists involved in the project
say the risk
of GM contamination to other plants is extremely minimal and
the benefits
of such a crop would outweigh any risk. They believe an engineered
onion
crop would require 70 per cent less herbicide treatment. At
the first day
of a three-day hearing in Christchurch yesterday, one scientist
involved
told the Erma panel he "could not imagine a simpler application
for you to
consider". The application concerns onions modified for tolerance
to
glyphosate, a low-toxicity, biodegradable herbicide. Glyphosate
is the
active ingredient in Monsanto's big-selling Roundup herbicide.
But the proposal came under tough scrutiny from the panel, forcing
the
scientists to admit that the finer details of the proposal had
yet to be
worked out. The leader of the project, Dr Colin Eady, was asked
who would
own the intellectual property rights to the seed production
should the
field trials go ahead and be successful. Dr Eady said those
details had
not been worked out. He was also asked about the possible scenario
of the
modified gene spreading into other crops nearby and if that
happened who
would own those crops. Dr Eady said he did not know as that
had not been
worked out.
Asked what obligation he would have towards other growers if
any
"contamination" sparked a significant economic effect, Dr Eady
debated the
risk factor of the trial. He said he was confident there would
be no
contamination, but was told he was "not asked about risk analysis,
but
what if it did happen". Dr Eady conceded he could not answer
that question
without further discussion with others at Crop & Food.
The scientist's estimation that the engineered crops would eventually
lead
to a 70 per cent reduction in herbicide use was challenged by
an Auckland
consultant, Richard Wood, contracted by Erma. He said the reduction
would
more likely be 40 to 50 per cent. Erma received more than 1900
submissions
on the proposed trial after it was publicly notified in July.
But only a
handful of submitters were invited to speak during the hearing,
which left
many anti-GM groups frustrated. GE Free New Zealand president
Claire
Bleakley said the timeframe was unfair and the inflexibility
of the
hearings being held only in Christchurch meant many people who
made
submissions could not personally speak to their concerns. However,
she and
a colleague, Susie Lees, were able to ask questions of Crop
& Food during
the hearing and put to Dr Eady that the secret collaborator
was the US
seed company Seminis. Seminis has already undertaken work on
making onions
tolerant to glyphosate but it made headlines by developing a
fluorescent
green protein and inserting it in vegetables like onions - essentially
making them glow in the dark.
The Seminis website confirms it does have research partnerships
with Crop
& Food Research but does not say what that research looks
at. Yesterday's
hearing was also attended by a group of protesters, one of whom
scaled the
foyer at the Christchurch Convention Centre and hung a banner
saying "No
dodGE onions". He removed the banner and climbed down when police
asked
him to. The hearing continues today with more submissions. The
application
The Environmental Risk Management Authority will consider an
application
to plant onions modified for tolerance to glyphosate, a low-toxicity,
biodegradable herbicide. Glyphosate is the active ingredient
in Monsanto's
popular Roundup herbicide More than 1900 people and organisations
have
made submissions on the Crop & Food Research plans.
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