Genetic Engineering
The Green Party believes food should be produced in ways that are healthy to humans, environmentally friendly, respectful to workers and animals, and that benefit biodiversity. We have opposed the use of GE in the environment for 7 years, secured a moratorium until 2003 on the release of GE organisms and have worked in Parliament to improve legislation covering GE organisms. The Green Party remains committed to keeping the Aotearoa/New Zealand environment free of GE organisms - new information is constantly coming forward showing that the risks have been understated.
What's new
GE foods in New Zealand list
Approved GE product data was obtained from: the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
Proponent data was obtained from correlating approved GE product data with approval documents on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website
Genetic Modification Revisited
A landmark speech on genetic modification from Jeanette Fitzsimons, Green Party GE Spokesperson, delivered at the NZ Institute of Agricutlural and Horticultural Science (NZIAHS) convention at Lincoln University on Wednesday 1st July.
Kevin Hague speaks to the Regulatory Improvement Bill, 1st Reading
For transcript please visit.
Kevin Hague speaks to the Regulatory Improvement Bill, 1st Reading
Firstly we do have concerns about the implications of some of the proposed changes to the HSNO Act. Some of these changes do meet the criteria Government has set out, while others do not – for example the proposed changes to delegations. Our co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has been closely involved in this area of law, and we will be considering the submissions made on this aspect of the Bill with a keen interest. This speech, however, focuses on our concerns about the proposed changes to the Conservation Act (and parallel measures proposed for the Reserves Act).
Kevin Hague speaks to the First Reading of the Patents Bill
Patent law has been an important area of law that was long overdue for an overhaul. As such, the Bill has quite a number of helpful developments embedded within it. For example, the Green Party is supportive of the tougher “absolute novelty” test, and the specific exclusions from patent protection for:
Genetic Engineering Links
Genetic Engineering Links
Dangers Of Genetic Engineering - excellent resource from the Mothers for Natural Law who are campaigning for labelling in the US. They have done a lot of research on the food industry and offer tips to identifying brands.
GE-Free Food Guide - a“true food” guide from Greenpeace New Zealand, an excellent database of the GE status of food.
GE-Free NZ - coalition of activists around the country, with the full title of GE-Free New Zealand in food and environment (RAGE inc). Website has masses of news and resources.
Genetically Engineered Food - Are You Part of the Experiment? - Friends of the Earth UK's GM campaign pages featuring horrific Frankenstein crops!
Giant Experiment - latest national and international news on GE, including a fortnightly email newsletter you can subscribe to, actions around New Zealand and a "Council lobbying kit".
Greenpeace Genetic Engineering Pages - has many news stories and features from around the world, including lots of protests and direct action.
Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST) - a global network for impartial interdisciplinary evaluation of the safety of new technologies. Explains why genetically engineered food may not be safe to eat and why release of genetically engineered organisms may be hazardous. There is also an affiliated NZ group - Physicians and Scientists for the Responsible Application of Science and Technology in NZ.
Sustainability Council of NZ - The Sustainability Council comprises eminent New Zealanders, including biological scientist Professor Garth Cooper and actor Sam Neill OBE who share an informed passion against indiscriminate release of GE. They convened to offer independent research and analysis on GE.
Suggest or comment on a link. Email: webmaster [at] greens [dot] org [dot] nz
