Tech | December 23, 2010 | 14 comments

Monsanto to fight GM contaminated organic farmer

source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/industry-sectors/gm-strain-blows-organic-status-awa...

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JanforGore
WA government hides GM canola test results

Wednesday, 23 December, 2010: A West Australian organic farmer is in limbo, awaiting state government test results and facing genetic manipulation giant Monsanto's legal wrath. Steve Marsh's organic farm has been decertified over GM canola contamination from a neighbour's farm.

Monsanto revealed today that it would give legal support to the GM grower if Mr Marsh sought redress for his losses through the courts.

"For years we called for Farmer Protection laws because GM contamination was inevitable once the Gene Technology Regulator issued unrestricted and unconditional commercial licences," says Gene Ethics Executive Director, Bob Phelps.

"And just this week, the regulator has licensed Monsanto trials of GM canola designed to survive even more repeated sprayings of Roundup herbicide. This will add to the burden of unmanageable herbicide tolerant weeds that already cost Australian land managers over $4 billion per year.

"The West Australian Government sampled the GM canola contaminating 60% of Steve Marsh's land weeks ago but Agriculture Minister Terry Redman is keeping the test results secret until Christmas eve at the earliest.

"Yet Steve's own strip tests found GM canola on his land and last week his organic certifier NASAA [National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia] confirmed GM and suspended his certification for at least a year. Steve has lost the premiums that come from marketing his organic produce that has zero tolerance for anything GM, as Organic Standard AS6000 requires.

"That's typical of how the minister treats farmers. Redman has not kept one promise on GM canola segregation and handling, despite claiming 'GM and non-GM canola can be segregated and marketed separately,' when he lifted the GM ban this year. He also welshed on his promise to publish the sites of GM canola farms so that non-GM growers could take evasive action.

"Monsanto's Tony May was present when Redman lifted the GM canola ban and he also sold 20% of the state's public plant breeding company intergrain to Monsanto for a song. They immediately announced that GM wheat is their joint research priority.

"Minister Redman has a responsibility to pass Farmer Protection laws early in 2011 to compensate organic farmer Steve Marsh and all the other growers who will be GM contaminated.

"Minister Redman must give Steve Marsh the Christmas present he needs, by announcing the GM test results today and promising a Farmer Protection law. He must give all farmers the non-GM crop choices that he promised, without economic loss or decertification from GM canola contamination," Mr Phelps concludes.

NOTES TO EDITORS

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/industry-sectors/gm-strain-blows-organi..., The Australian, December 23.

More background and media reports at www.geneethics.org
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14 comments // Monsanto to fight GM contaminated organic farmer

  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • Murray blasts Redman on GM contamination
      Farm Weekly (Australia)
      23 Dec, 2010 09:41 AM
      http://fw.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/murray-b...

      SHADOW Minister for Agriculture Mick Murray has called for current Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman to allow WA shires to declare themselves Genetically Modified (GM) crop-free after Kojonup organic farmer Stephen Marsh lost his organic certification due to contamination.

      Mr Murray said Mr Redman had broken his promise that there would be no contamination of non-GM crops by nearby GM farms.

      Recent Trait RUR strip tests carried out by Mr Marsh led him to believe nearly two thirds of his non-GM farm (293ha covering six paddocks) in Kojonup was contaminated after a neighbour's GM canola blew onto the property.

      Mr Murray said the financial impacts of the contamination could be devastating and it was only a matter of time before more non-GM crop farmers would be forced to pay for the Barnett Government's reckless stance on GM crops.

      He also voiced his concern that there would be the potential for huge social ramifications for regional towns and communities if litigation between neighbours broke out over contamination.

      "Establishing the Agriculture and Food Department's online geographic information system is nowhere near enough to stop contamination," Mr Murray said.

      "No preventative measures can prevent contamination of non-GM crops and that is why 27,000 Western Australians signed a petition against the Barnett Government's plan.

      "The first year of the Barnett Government's GM crop trials has been a shambles and the Minister must immediately reveal his plan for stopping any further contamination of non-GM crops."

      Greenpeace GM campaigner, Laura Kelly, said Freedom Of Information (FOI) evidence obtained by Greenpeace showed that Mr Redman had completely abandoned the property rights of WA farmers and failed in the most basic duty of care.

      "Now these FOI results show his government isn't fulfilling its legal requirement to test food for GM contamination and ensure it is correctly labelled under Australian food standards," she said.

      "This amounts to a big green light to multinational chemical companies like Monsanto to contaminate WA farms, because there will be no legal or financial repercussions in the field or at the check-out, regardless of the costs this creates for our farmers and Australian consumers.

      "Because of Mr Redman's leadership failure, farmers have lost their non-GM market premium, WA consumers have lost their fundamental right to know if they are eating GM and foreign chemical companies increase their control of WA's food supply."

      Kojonup farmer Stephen Marsh now faces the financial and time-consuming burden of eradicating all traces of GM canola from next year's crop and quarantining his stock to be deemed an organic farm again.

      Mr Marsh said he was still coming to terms with how the huge loss would affect his family business.

      "We're losing a large part of our livelihood and it's just put us back on our plans for the future," he said.

      "The issue needed to be sorted out before something like this happened.
      "People need to decide the future of this technology and not the seed companies or the government."

      Mr Marsh and his family were awaiting official test results from the Agriculture and Food Department while an investigation carried out by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) is still ongoing.

      The Marsh's continue to work hard to follow through with the four major compliance issues which they have to abide by.

      "Now that our organic oat crops and wheat will be downgraded to conventional crop status it's very clear to us that Monsanto can't control its technology," Mr Marsh said.

    • 1 year ago
  • CalgarC
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  

    • I think it's high time I scratched all corn off all shopping lists. THAT takes care of that. I haven't had bacon, pork chops or sausage biscuits in years either. Not much hamburger. Hmm. I wonder what I have been eating now. BREAD! Spinach.

      Pinto beans. Yogurt. haha No wonder I'm growing younger!

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • JanforGore
  • thetrimsmith
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  

    • http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/grains-and-cropping/barley/gm-contam...

      More on this disgrace.

      "GM contamination fear
      ALAN DICK
      16 Dec, 2010 04:00 AM
      A West Australian organic farmer is considering taking legal action over alleged contamination of his pastures, rye and wheat crops with genetically modified (GM) canola.
      If he does so, it will be the first such case in Australia over the contentious issue as to who bears the responsibility in GM contamination of non-GM crops.

      And if his claim is proved correct, it will make a mockery of the industry-endorsed five-metre buffer between GM and non-GM canola crops.

      Steve Marsh, who farms near Kojonup, between Albany and Perth, said GM canola seed had blown more than 1.5 kilometres inside his boundary, apparently from a neighbouring property, infesting at least 182 hectares with GM canola plants.

      Mr Marsh said he had used trait test strips to detect the Roundup Ready (RUR) gene in the canola.

      He said the West Australian Department of Agriculture and Food was running more detailed tests and he would await the results of these before deciding whether to sue for financial loss.

      Australian organic standards imposed zero tolerance of GM and the incident had resulted in the organic status of some of his paddocks being suspended.

      National spokeswoman for the Network of Concerned Farmers (NCF), Julie Newman, said the network would support Mr Marsh with legal costs and the benefits of its research into the legal issues if he went to court.

      The NCF has developed draft letters for non-GM farmers to send to neighbouring GM farmers warning them of potential legal consequences if the non-GM farmers’ crops are contaminated with GM material.

      She said such cases had not occurred overseas because the owner of the Roundup Ready technology in GM canola, Monsanto – unlike in Australia where the GM farmer bore the responsibility – was legally required to clean up such contamination.

      Mr Marsh said the situation was proof GM plant material could not be controlled or contained.

      “Our livelihood is at stake as we are a certified organic farm and rely on the premium that comes from selling guaranteed GM-free organic food,” he said.

      “Governments that allow GM to be grown must ensure whatever a farmer does within their boundary does not impact on neighbouring farms.”

      Cropwatch technician for Gene Ethics, Jessica Harrison, said according to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator which licensed GM crops, canola seed could sprout for up to 16 years.

      “Farmers must be compensated for any loss of premiums and certification that results from GM contamination,” she said.

      “A majority of people will not buy GM-contaminated food products and are flocking to organics, but this incident puts that trust under a cloud.”

      A Monsanto spokeswoman said the company was awaiting more details before commenting:"
      ________________

      The Network of Concerned Farmers will be handling legal costs if Mr. Marsh decides to sue, which he most defintiely should do. This is reminiscent of the Percy Schmeiser case in Canada regarding Gm canola. I wonder if he will contact him for advice and support? He should do that as well. Monsanto needs to PAY and so do these governments that deliberately ignore proper procedure in safeguarding our biodiversity and the livelihoods of organic farmers!

    • 1 year ago
  • toastyguy11
  • khusha
    • +2
      khusha  

    • Sinister Monsanto. What can be nastier than trying to control our food sources. I live in rural Mexico, six months ago I went to buy seeds for our new family garden and could not find any non GM seeds. All the places that sold organic seeds had gone out of business. Yes JanforGore, lets try to help this farmer. Bastards, bastards, bastards. Of course there are a number of companies buying up all the water sources as well... more bastards.

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • khusha:

      Monsanto is killing biodiversity in places like Mexico where corn is your life. It is the most insidious plan, and they are yes also into water. If I can find any information on seed you can purchase there that is non gmo I will most definitely pass that on to you.

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
  • khusha
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +8
      JanforGore  

    • They want to deliberately contaminate all crops to then be the only seeds available. Can you imagine suing farmers when they claim to be a "life sciences" "sustainable agriculture" company? How dare they. I am looking into seeing how we can help Mr. Marsh fight Monsanto. I will report back if I find anything. If anyone else finds anything please post it here. Bastards.

    • 1 year ago
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