NEWS: GM Crops: GM trial sows hope for farmers
The Age
Peter Ker
April 18, 2007
Here’s a great article excerpt by Peter Ker about GM crops from The Age.
Excerpt…
VICTORIA'S first crop of genetically modified wheat is set to be growing within weeks, after a positive response from the federal regulator to a State Government proposal.
But the Government has been warned it must stick to strict safety measures if it is to proceed with the trial of drought-resistant wheat.
The Age reported in December that the Department of Primary Industries had applied to the federal Gene Technology Regulator for permission to grow GM wheat crops on two sites near Horsham and Mildura.
In its preliminary assessment, the regulator identified 15 potential risks, including the possibility of the modified species being uncontrollably spread by animals or weather.
But the regulator was confident that risks could be completely or significantly negated by precautions, including:
■ A 490-metre exclusion zone between the GM wheat and any other wheat species.
■ A 10-metre exclusion zone between the GM wheat and any other plant.
■ A rabbit-proof fence more than a metre high around all GM wheat trial sites.
■ A ban on the GM wheat being used for anything other than research.
The trial crops are part of an attempt to secure the future of wheat farmers, who have endured years of drought in the north-western parts of the state….
Read the full article at The Age.
