NCF protest in Melbourne: Remove your unwanted genes Bayer Cropscience

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julie

NCF protest in Melbourne: Remove your unwanted genes Bayer

Cropscience

Mon, 5 Sep 2005 19:40:56 -0500

 

 

 

 

06 September 2005

 

Remove your unwanted genes Bayer Cropscience

 

- For immediate release

 

A delegation of farmers from the Network of Concerned Farmers (NCF)

protested at Bayer Cropscience headquarters in Melbourne today. Farmers

delivered samples of canola to be tested and asked Bayer Cropscience to

" remove their trespassing genes " from their properties. (Letter Ref 5)

 

" The industry can not just ignore contamination until after we deliver

our

harvest and farmers can't accept any contamination if we are to be

liable

for the economic loss or additional costs caused by it, " insisted

Geoffrey

Carracher, NCF spokesperson and Victorian farmer from Minimay.

 

" It's a moratorium and it is Bayer Cropscience's responsibility to

recall

their unwanted GM product just as it would be our job to collect our

sheep

if they wandered on the road or on to another farmers property. "

 

Since the contamination scandal was announced in several states, an

industry task force has been established to routinely test seed samples

and the protocol adopted involves growing the samples and spraying it

with

the chemicals the GM crop is resistant to. Only GM crops would survive

and

further testing would be done on positive results. The testing

procedure

would take at least 8 weeks. (Ref 4)

 

" Farmers need to know if we have contamination as we will be signing to

guarantee there is no contamination in our seed when we deliver it. We

can

't wait a few months for a test and Bayer Cropscience were meant to

have a

better test than that. "

 

The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) imposed a condition

of

license on Bayer Cropscience to provide a testing methodology that is

able

to reliably detect the presence of each of the GMOs or their genetic

material. The NCF contacted the regulators office but were told that

the

testing information was " commercial in confidence. " (Ref 2)

 

" It is commercial incompetence not to have an accurate field test when

these varieties were planned to be released and coexist with non-GM

varieties. How can we tell if we have contamination when there is no

test

available for it? " asked Mr Carracher.

 

" In order to deflect the blame to seed imports, Bayer Cropscience

reported

on the ABC yesterday that the variety Topas 19/2 was only grown in

Tasmania but the OGTR site reveals this variety was included in trials

in

all the states that have reported contamination. " (Ref 3)

 

" We don't believe Bayer Cropscience has complied with their license

conditions and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator should

withdraw

their license until they do. "

 

The NCF are urging farmers to forward samples to Bayer Cropscience in

order to assist any future legal action that may be taken against the

company if economic loss has occurred.

 

" Bayer Cropscience refused to have the samples tested and refused to

sign

the letter of receipt, " reported Mr Carracher.

 

Contact: Geoffrey Carracher 0428 316901

 

References and photos available (when available) at

http://www.non-gm-farmers.com/news_details.asp?ID=2392