MARKETERS of genetically modified canola grown in Western Australia could sell the oilseed to Japan if it were allowed to be grown commercially, a key marketer said. Brian Mumme, general manager of Cooperative Bulk Handling Limited’s Grain Pool marketing unit, traditionally the largest grain and oilseed exporter from the state, said there is a market in Japan for both GM and non-GM canola going forward.

An estimated 487,200 tonnes of genetically modified material, by weight, was used in animal feed in Australia in 2006-07, according to an Australian report. This represented about 5% of all feed grains by weight used in that year, with proportions varying across the livestock industries, depending on the feed mix used. It is estimated the chicken-meat industry on average used the largest volume of GM feed grain in 2006-07, followed by the egg and dairy industries.

The man who headed up Victoria’s GM moratorium review, Sir Gustav Nossal, says genetically modified canola will eventually yield 20 per cent more than conventional varieties. Recent trials between GM canola and conventional varieties showed there was little yield difference between the two. [...] Sir Gustav Nossal says there’ll be more canola planted this year and the benefits will show up.

The man who headed up Victoria’s GM moratorium review, Sir Gustav Nossal, says genetically modified canola will eventually yield 20 per cent more than conventional varieties. Recent trials between GM canola and conventional varieties showed there was little yield difference between the two. [...] Sir Gustav Nossal says there’ll be more canola planted this year and the benefits will show up.

Leading anti-GM activists have condoned the sabotage of paddocks sown with genetically modified canola in a bid to stop WA’s planned crop trials. Greenpeace anti-GM campaigner Louise Sales said it would be ”completely acceptable” for protesters to trash crops and that such actions would be for the ”wider good”.

”I think it’s acceptable for citizens to take matters into their own hands when the Government is ignoring their wishes and releasing crops that threaten the environment,” she said.

The organisers of the National Variety Trials have urged people not to jump to conclusions about the performance of the genetically modified canola varieties that were trialled last year, saying it is still to early to judge their merit. [...] The RR GM canola trials were conducted at five locations: three trial sites in Victoria, located near Wunghnu, Lake Bolac and Horsham; and two trial sites in NSW located near Forbes and Wagga Wagga. ”As a result of the dry season and frosts only two trials, Horsham and Forbes, were successful,” NVT manager, Alan Bedggood said today.

The NSW government says the move to genetically modified (GM) crops has greatly reduced the need for toxic pesticides such as endosulfan, which the Greens want banned. [...] New Zealand banned endosulfan in December, leaving Australia as one of the last countries in the developed world to condone its use.

Genetically modified canola crops in Victoria have performed no better than their non-genetically modified counterparts as Western Australia prepares to hold trials later this year. Results from Grains Research and Development Council showed the yields, from the first independent trial crops in Horsham and Forbes in Victoria, were 0.7 tonne per hectare for GM and 0.8t/ha ha for non-GM. The results are not good news for those wanting to farm GM canola, as to break even with the technology, profits must increase by up to 16 per cent.

Farmers who don’t grow genetically modified canola will be forced to sue those that do over economic losses in a move that could divide communities, a farmers’ group says. [...] ”It’s a blatant disregard for the process that was promised,” spokeswoman for the Network of Concerned Farmers Julie Newman said. Ms Newman is part of an industry reference group that was finalising the report which was expected to be released by the end of this year.

The State’s major farm groups have seized on a new report - which argues genetically modified crops can help farmers better adapt to climate change - to call for a lifting of the ban on GM food crops. A report by the Federal Government’s Bureau of Rural Sciences found GM technology could allow crops to be grown with less water and to become more tolerant to heat. The controversial technology could also help cut greenhouse gas emissions by improving resistance to insects and herbicides and so reduce the number of times crops must be sprayed, which lowers fuel use.