THE ”escape” of genetically modified canola on to roadsides is not likely to develop into uncontrollable wild populations contaminating conventional crops. Four years of research by the University of Melbourne has shown volunteer canola competes poorly with other plants and does not establish breeding populations on roadsides.

And other research has shown that concerns of roadside canola crossbreeding with other canola plants are unfounded.

Recently, Monsanto’s apparent transformation from agrichemical giant to philanthropic institution was cynically trumpeted to the world’s media: ”We will double crops yields!” Such grandiose promises can only be offered if there is a parallel narrative that portrays genetic engineering as being able to permit the precise control of life processes and by extension, provide predictable and controllable agricultural outcomes. [...] But are the techniques that give rise to GM foods as precise and controlled as the PR blurb suggests?

RESEARCH over the past four years shows that canola is a poor competitor with established roadside plants and is unlikely to develop wild populations. And other research shows that concerns of roadside canola crossing with other canola plants are unfounded. [...] in most cases there was no correlation between population location and density from one year to the next.

The South Australian government says its moratorium on genetically modified crops will remain, even though the Bureau of Rural Sciences has found that genetically modified canola crops would make the industry more sustainable. The bureau says GM crops make pest and weed management easier and are likely to increase crop yields. Agriculture Minister Rory McEwen says GM crops pose too much of a risk on the green image of industries such as wine.

TASMANIA’s ban on the commercial release of genetically modified food crops will continue for at least another five years.

Primary Industries and Water David Llewellyn announced the extention to November 2014 today and said move would make the State’s primary produce even more desirable. ”Tasmania’s GMO-free status is a key factor in the Tasmanian brand and is therefore vital to Tasmania?s primary producers realising their full potential in international and interstate markets.”

”Access to GM cotton crops has made a significant contribution to the cotton industry’s sustainable management of insect pests and weeds, and to the environment,” Ms Schneider says. ”Reduced application and expenditure on insecticides has increased the profitability and ease of growing cotton and improved community perception of the industry.

Anti genetically modified food group, GM Cropwatch, claims to have found evidence of GM contamination from crops in Horsham, Victoria. GM Cropwatch’s Jessica Harrison says she has found GM canola plants heaped up on the roadside near Horsham, and that galahs were also seen feasting on GM canola last week. She says windrowed GM canola plants also blew off a farmers’ property and were strewn 75 metres across the road.

It is still with us and not hard to find, from food prices in supermarkets worldwide to hunger in the Pacific, Asia and Africa. There were food riots in Africa and South-East Asia this year, and the crisis was linked to the fall of the Haitian government. Unless its causes are dealt with, it will worsen in the years to come. [...] When India switched to GM cotton, it increased productivity by 75pc in four years. It went from a net importer of cotton to the world’s second-largest exporter. None of us know if such gains will come from other crops, but ignoring the potential of genetic modification puts superstition ahead of science.

The Canola Edition of the True Food Guide for GE free shopping was launched today at Alex Herbert’s restaurant, Bird Cow Fish in Sydney. We were joined by Australian cooking icon Margaret Fulton and Carolyn Creswell of Carman’s Fine Food. Margaret Fulton, who had launched the first ever True Food Guide in 2002, heartily congratulated the ”green” companies – for first time, a majority of Australian food companies have committed to be GE-free, responding to growing consumer concern over the safety of eating GE food.

CROPS in South Australia being contaminated from genetically modified material from over the border is an inevitability, according to international environmental lawyer Duncan Currie, who visited Adelaide last week. This comes as GM farmers in Victoria opened up their farms to allow other growers to see the results of their first season of Roundup Ready canola. Early sowing and no cultivation, good weed management and more flexibility in cropping options were some of the reasons the farmers gave for opting to try GM canola in its first season.