Japan and Europe need to embrace genetically modified wheat to combat food shortages in poor countries, rather than pander to consumer fears, the head of a global wheat research institute said on Wednesday. Resistance from the public and consumer groups in rich countries to genetically modified (GM) wheat has forced major producing countries, such as Australia, the United States and Canada, to steer away from growing GM crops. But GM crops can boost yields and help poor countries feed their people at a time of food shortages and rising world prices, said Thomas Lumpkin, head of the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre.

Dr Chris Preston and Dr Peter Boutsalis, researchers from the CRC for Australian Weed Management (Weeds CRC), the University of Adelaide and national Glyphosate Sustainability Working Group (GSWG) today confirmed that a population of liverseed grass (Urochloa panicoides) from summer fallows in New South Wales has become resistant to glyphosate (eg Roundup), the most valuable herbicide in Australian agricultural systems. The announcement comes only a year after glyphosate resistance was confirmed in northern New South Wales in two populations of awnless barnyard grass (Echinochloa colona), and twelve years after the first case of glyphosate resistance was recorded in a population of annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) near Echuca, Victoria.

Australia should accept that genetically modified (GM) crops will be crucial in addressing the world food crisis, federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says. State governments have imposed bans on most food crops, with the exception of canola in NSW and Victoria. Scientists and environmentalists are concerned GM crops are difficult to contain and long-term health effects are unknown. Mr Burke, addressing an agriculture science conference in Canberra, said GM food crops would be necessary to address global food shortages.

West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter has used the issue of genetically modified crops to highlight what he calls the ”risk” factor posed by a Liberal government. After targeting the Liberals’ support of uranium mining throughout his four-week election campaign, Mr Carpenter promised $5 million in funding to help promote WA as a GM-free state. Mr Carpenter said the Liberals wanted to allow broadscale GM farming, a claim later denied by Opposition Leader Colin Barnett.

The purpose of this controlled field trial is to conduct proof-of-concept research to assess the performance of genetically modified (GM) wheat lines that express one of fifteen different candidate genes for drought tolerance derived from the plants thale cress and maize, a moss and yeast. [...] In this field trial 24 lines of GM wheat were tested and, of these, seven were identified as providing higher yields under drought stress. Two GM wheat lines exceeded the yield of the control experimental variety by 20 per cent under drought stress, with no apparent yield penalty under irrigated conditions.

BLINDING self-interest is the only motivation behind the Victorian Government’s insistence on pushing genetically modified farming on to central Victoria, Bendigo Mayor David Jones said yesterday. ”The people who think the science is in on genetic engineering are the very same people who think the science is not in on climate change,” Cr Jones said. ”We need to send a strong message to all sides of politics.” Cr Jones said the City of Greater Bendigo Council will sponsor a forum on Friday, bringing together farmers, scientists and anti-GM activists to highlight the impact of introducing genetically modified canola crops to central Victoria since a government moratorium was lifted six months ago.

The Gene Ethics network is claiming a win for the anti-genetically modified crop movement, applauding a Tasmanian Government all-party committee report which recommends that prohibition on the release of GM food crops be extended for another five years. If adopted, the moratorium on GM crops in that state would not be reviewed until the end of the five year period. Gene Ethics director Bob Phelps says a GM ban in Tasmania would isolate the ”rogue states” of Victoria and NSW, which have allowed commercial GM canola crops to be grown this year.

Premier Brumby refuses to set up an official GM site register. ”Gene Ethics presents its online map of commercial GM canola sites being grown this winter as a service to the Victorian public,” says Gene Ethics Director Bob Phelps. ”Our map helps fill the information vacuum created when Premier Brumby lifted Victoria’s 5 year GM canola ban and refused to set up an official register, worsening the threat of GM contamination.

Leading Australian chefs Tobie Puttock and Dur-é Dara have joined nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton and Greenpeace in launching a national petition asking for comprehensive labelling and testing of GM food products. The petition – ”Our Right to Know” – calls on Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, to introduce labelling and rigorous safety testing for all food derived from genetically modified (GM) crops. Oils and other highly processed foods are currently not labelled for GM ingredients, nor is produce from animals fed GM feed. Canola is used extensively in processed foods, as cooking oil, and in animal feed. Australia’s first GM food crop, GM canola, will be harvested in NSW and Victoria later this year.

Genetically Modified (GM) crops continue to polarise opinion, with the WA Opposition indicating they will allow trials of GM canola and permit the planting of GM cotton if they triumph in September’s election. The Labor Government has, however, remained steadfast in their belief that the state should remain GM-free, with Premier Alan Carpenter indicating a moratorium on GM crops will remain if he is re-elected. ”I will not, in the next term of government, allow GM crops to be grown on a commercial basis in Western Australia,” he told reporters earlier this week.