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Tuesday 27 November 2007

JOINT STATEMENT: Scientists support lifting of ban on GM canola crops:

Please find below a joint statement received from a group of agricultural scientists across a range of institutions in reaction to today's announcement on GM food crops. The group consists of:

Professor Rick Roush, University of Melbourne
Professor Jim Pratley, Charles Sturt University
Professor Stephen Powles, FTSE, University of Western Australia
Dr Christopher Preston, The University of Adelaide
Professor Mark Tester, Federation Fellow, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics and The University of Adelaide
Dr David Tribe, University of Melbourne
Dr Rob Norton, University of Melbourne

JOINT STATEMENT:
Agricultural scientists across Australia today enthusiastically support lifting of the four year moratorium on GM canola by the New South Wales and Victorian governments and look forward to other states following in the near future..

In supporting this move, we join with every major representative farming organisation in Australia, including the National Farmers Federation, the Victorian Farmers Federation, the Victorian Dairy Farmers, the NSW Farmers Association, the South Australian Farmers Association, the Pastoralists & Graziers Association of Western Australia, the WA Farmers, and the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers. All have campaigned to end the moratoria.

While the moratoria have been in place here, Europe and Japan have continued to import millions of tonnes of GM grains. Further, countries such as Spain, France and Germany and others in Europe have allowed their farmers to grow GM, including corn and soy. Australian farmers also deserve choice.

“Every major scientific and health organization in the world has endorsed the safety of GM crops to human health and the environment”, argues Dr David Tribe of the University of Melbourne, who maintains a website, gmo pundit, with references to published papers on GM safety.

Although there has been speculation that there would be premiums for GM free, the fact remains that there are no premiums large enough to offset the net profits of GM varieties.

“After more than a decade of GM crop production elsewhere, the only people paying for GM-free status are Australia’s grain farmers, who have not had access to canola varieties with higher yield potential and net profits and have therefore been forced to forego hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue”, notes Rick Roush, Dean of Land and Food Resources at the University of Melbourne.

“In Canada, average canola yields have increased by 27% since 1996. Over the same period, Australian yields have stagnated or even declined”, says Dr Rob Norton of the University of Melbourne.

Researchers at Charles Sturt University “have shown in a five-year trial that one of the GM canola varieties consistently delivered superior weed control, higher yields and oil quality and better profits” adds Professor Jim Pratley of CSU.

Further, the environment is paying for the GM ban. “GM crops have already demonstrated around the world over the last decade significant advantages to the environment, including reduction in pesticide use (5-90%/crop), reductions in tillage (which means lower fuel use and erosion) due to easier weed management, and reduced CO2 emissions on the order of billions of kg from better carbon storage in soil and reduced fuel consumption” says Dr Chris Preston of the University of Adelaide.

GM cotton, which contributes some 40% of Australia’s cooking oil, has been a great success, assisting the cotton industry to reduce its environmental footprint by decreasing pesticide use by up to 90%. Growers buy GM seed and pay royalties because of the economic and environmental returns on investment.

GM crops have much more to offer. “Field trials in Canada in 2003, for example, showed that GM drought tolerant canola had a 16% yield advantage over conventional varieties. The lifting of the moratoria will at long last encourage further development of GM technologies and scientific talent to address Australia’s particular needs.”, adds Roush.

Australia can no longer ignore a decade of success of GM crops, now grown on more than 100 million hectares around the world by more than 5 million farmers. It is time to move on.

For more information regarding this joint statement, contact:

Professor Rick Roush
Dean Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne
Ph: 03 8344 5029
Mobile: 0448 021 825

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