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NORTHERN COUNCILS AGREE TO "LAST DITCH" EFFORT TO HAVE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT FIX FLAWED GE LEGISLATION

GE FREE NORTHLAND

Press Release 1 April 2010

NORTHERN COUNCILS AGREE TO "LAST DITCH" EFFORT TO HAVE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT FIX FLAWED GE LEGISLATION

 

GE FREE Northland welcomes the news that Northland Regional Council (NRC) and Far North District Council (FNDC) have voted to join the other member councils of the "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation & Options" in making a last ditch effort this year to further lobby central government to amend the flaws in the HSNO Act.

The vote took place at the last full council meeting of FNDC (25 March) and the 17 March 2010 meeting of the NRC Environment Management Committee.

The NRC vote was unanimous, gaining the support not of only councillors but of a cross-section of interested parties from Northland.

"This is a timely decision. We await only Auckland Regional Councils decision on April 20 this year," said GE FREE NORTHLAND Chairman Martin Robinson.

The Court of Appeal has overturned last year’s High Court decision against AgResearch, which wants conditional release of transgenic animals in undisclosed locations in the North Island.

"It is all the more critical that local councils do everything they can to get much needed changes into the HSNO Act. This includes a truly strict liability regime," said Mr Robinson.

The Chairman of the NRC Environmental Management committee, Cr Craig Brown has voiced his concerns.

"While I’m very pleased with the NRC’s decision, I am of the opinion that if this persistent lobbying of central government continues to be unsuccessful in persuading government to take the appropriate action… that the regional council and territorial authorities of Northland need to put strong precautionary measures in their District Plans, the Regional Plan and RPS."

Visiting GE-free advocate leaves a cautionary message: protect your primary producers

 

 

 

 

http://gbweekly.co.nz/2010/3/24/visiting-ge-free-advocate-leaves-a-cautionary-message-protect-your-primary-producers

Visiting GE-free advocate leaves a cautionary message: protect your primary producers

GOLDEN BAY WEEKLY 25 March 2010

by Gerard Hindmarsh

Northland-based horticulturalist and GE-free lobbyist, Zelka Grammer, recently spent three weeks tramping her way through the backblocks of Kahurangi, coming out in Golden Bay to replenish her supplies and deliver a strong message to anyone that would listen:

Start protecting your organic and conventional primary producers by insisting TDC place a ban on land use involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

 

It’s not just hot air.

Zelka and her GE-Free Northland colleagues were instrumental in convincing nine Northland and Auckland councils to form the Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Options, whose core function is protecting the regions’ existing (and what many perceive as valuable) GM-free status.

"The next step," says a confident Zelka, will be the implementation of a Regional Exclusion Zone for GMOs. It’s akin to what Golden Bay and Waiheke Island councils did in the late 1970s, when they declared themselves ‘Nuclear Free.’ People laughed back then, but that one became arguably one of this country’s most popular policies."

Annual General Meeting

Terminal Cancer Patient Who Sued Monsanto Gets His Day in Court

 Story at-a-glance

  • In 2015, the IARC classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen based on limited evidence showing it can cause Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lung cancer in humans, and convincing evidence linking it to cancer in animals
  • Recent research by the respected Ramazzini Institute shows daily ingestion of glyphosate at the EPA’s acceptable daily dietary exposure level alters sexual development in rats, alters the intestinal microbiome, and has genotoxic effects
  • Recent tests by the U.S. National Toxicology Program reveal the Roundup formula is far more toxic than glyphosate alone, and is lethal to human cells
  • An estimated 4,000 individuals have filed lawsuits against Monsanto, claiming Roundup caused their Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The first cancer patient to get his day in court is Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, who used Roundup extensively in his work as a groundskeeper
  • Bayer seems to be betting on its ability to rehabilitate Monsanto’s products’ reputation simply by ditching the Monsanto name, but worldwide, the fight against Monsanto is now turning toward Bayer as its successor

By Dr. Mercola

GE Free Northland action alert: submission period now closed! in response to Northland Regional Council's proposed Regional Plan

GE Free Northland action alert:
submissions needed on GE/GMO issue in response to Northland Regional Council's proposed New Regional Plan

GE-FREE NORTHLAND VICTORY AGAINST FEDERATED FARMERS OF NZ

GE-FREE NORTHLAND VICTORY AGAINST FEDERATED FARMERS OF NZ

31 October 2017 Media Release

GE-Free Northland

 

Valuable precautionary GMO provisions in the Northland Regional Policy Statement and our democratic right to be GE-free have been secured, with Federated Farmers of NZ finally withdrawing two vexatious appeals on the GE/GMO issue and the jurisdictional issue settled in our favour.

GE-Free Northland, along with appellant Whangarei District Council and other interested parties (including Tai Tokerau mana whenua and the Soil & Health Association) have successfully defended the right of local authorities to manage  the outdoor use of GMOs in their region, after Federated Farmers sought a ruling back in 2015 that Northland Regional Council had acted outside the law in taking this approach.

Since comprehensively losing the 2015 Environment Court appeal (which it initiated) on all points of law, Federated Farmers not only filed an appeal against the Environment Court's decision with the High Court, but also (after losing both court cases) went on to the Court of Appeal.

new National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry, 16,000 Kiwi submittors say NO to GE trees

new National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry

by Zelka Linda Grammer

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) released the new Environmental Standards (NES) for Plantation Forestry in August 2017, after putting out the draft NES-PF two years ago.

The new NES-PF (1) gives foresters, councils, and communities clear national guidelines on how to protect the environment while achieving a sustainable forestry industry ((although many submitters would have preferred stronger provisions to protect indigenous trees, wildlife habitats, and ecosystems).

Severe pressure on MPI resulted in the agency removing a controversial clause 6.4 (GE trees), which was added at the eleventh hour with no consultation with the NZ Farm Forestry Association, Forest and Bird, and other key stakeholders) from the new NES-PF.

Various councils with strong precautionary GE policies, foresters, and other primary producers welcomed the removal of the clause that would have permitted the planting of GE trees anywhere in NZ and specifically overriden any precautionary or prohibitive GE policies and rules of local councils (including those of Northland, Auckland, and Hawke's Bay).

GE Free Northland action alert: submissions needed on GE/GMO issue in response to proposed Northland Regional Plan

GE Free Northland action alert:
submissions needed on GE/GMO issue in response to Northland Regional Council's proposed New Regional Plan

Food regulator ignores health risks of GE potatoes

Food regulator ignores health risks of GE potatoes

Soil & Health Association 4 October 2017
Media release    

New Zealanders could soon be eating crisps and hot chips made from GE potatoes, with little idea of the added health risks from genetic engineering. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), which has just approved six new lines of GE potatoes for human consumption, has breached its duty of care to consumers, says the Soil & Health Association.

Last week the Trans-Tasman food regulator released its decision approving the sale of food derived from potatoes that have been genetically engineered for disease resistance to foliar late blight, reduced blackspot bruising and reduced acrylamide potential. The potatoes are aimed at fast food outlets and the frozen chip and crisps market.

“FSANZ has a legal requirement to protect the health and safety of people in Australia and New Zealand through the maintenance of a safe food supply,” says Soil & Health chair Graham Clarke. “By approving these potato lines without sufficient evidence to prove that they are safe to eat, FSANZ has effectively breached this legal requirement.”

“Soil & Health is further concerned that due to New Zealand’s weak food labelling laws, consumers may not even know whether they’re consuming the GE potatoes or not,” says Clarke.

Soil & Health made a joint submission with GE Free NZ on the application, and referenced a number of studies that show harm from eating GE foods, which FSANZ has dismissed and ignored. The submission highlighted how no independent food safety experiments had been carried out on the GE potato lines.

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