Friday, January 10, 2014
Good idea for Southland
(After the original by Steffan Browning)
Southland should follow the Tasmanian Government's lead and have a moratorium on genetically engineered (GE/GMO) crops and animals to give food and agricultural industries the best market advantage, ES councillor Robert Guyton said today.
Tasmania announced yesterday that it would extend its moratorium on GE indefinitely to give its agricultural industry an advantage in marketing to increasingly food-safety conscious consumers.
There is a huge, premium market for GE-free products that Southland should be targeting
"Tasmania's smart approach has given it access to a high-value market whereas other Australian states have accepted some GE crops such as canola, which has caused contamination, market rejection issues, community discord, and loss of opportunity for non-GE producers.
"A permanent ban on GE would enhance Southland's image. Southland has no GE commercial crops or animal production at present with just two GE field trials and one legal GE equine influenza vaccine. We could go further than Tasmania and ban the GE field trials and release of GE vaccines.
"Tasmanian beef producers exporting to the USA celebrated yesterday's announcement and Southland producers should also be able to profit from the GE-free advantage.
"Resistance to GE food is building in the USA and the market for GE-free food is already well established in Europe. Asian markets are also becoming more and more sensitive to food safety issues. The best value for Southland exporters can be gained by reinstating a GE moratorium," said Mr Guyton.
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2 comments:
You are so right. Travel round the world and you soon see how much notice people are now taking about what they eat. Southland could be the food bowl of NZ. Same goes for so much of what we do. The smart people are marketing a product where far to many are marketing just a raw material. Shame to see the logs at Bluff and all the aluminium leaving Tiwai as ingots. The Alliance group is marketing prime cuts in specific markets and making a real name for Southland lamb. Must be so many similar opportunities.
I want to see the ES council take a position on ge and support a moratorium.
They wouldn't though, when asked, choosing instead to claim it was not their/our place to make such a declaration.
I thought it very weak of them. If the regional council won't think about and take a position on something that could have significant effects on the environment and the economy of their region, what are they there for?
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