GM crops in SA: Here are the arguments for and against
What are the arguments for and against growing GM crops in South Australia? Explore the differing opinions and make up your own mind.
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- For: Leading SA scientists
- For: Cameron England
- Against: Labor and independents
- The reaction: Farmers’ fury over GM crops ban
News that South Australia’s controversial ban on growing genetically modified crops will stay in place after the Opposition and crossbenchers cut down a State Government plan to lift it prompted us to explore the arguments for and against in more detail. Let us know what you think.
FOR GM CROPS IN SA
DR MATTHEW TUCKER, WAITE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Agriculture is one of the pillars upon which South Australia is built. The broader agriculture, horticulture and forestry sector employs over 150,000 South Australians and is comprised of almost 10,000 farms. In 2017/18, agricultural production delivered almost $6.6 billion of economic value to the state.
An industry roadmap prepared by The National Farmers Federation has set a target of increasing agricultural production in Australia from $60B to $100B by 2030. This is an ambitious target that is currently being challenged by drought and climate change.
Many of the challenges faced by agriculture in Australia have historically been overcome through research and innovation. Crops such as GM canola are an example of this, and have been grown safely in most mainland Australian states for over 10 years. To date, the option to grow GM canola as part of rotation strategy has not been available to South Australian growers.
Growers need access to a diverse toolkit, including improved plant varieties and management practises, to sustain and improve yields. It’s a bit like a workshop or kitchen where you need multiple tools or utensils; you don’t use the same tool all the time, but when you need access to it then it’s available. To access these tools, growers need input from smart researchers that understand local conditions and challenges.
The GM moratorium in SA has damaged the state’s scientific reputation. Industry investment worth millions of dollars has moved interstate or overseas, preventing local experts from undertaking research that would benefit local growers in our specific environmental conditions. This has downstream impacts on the ability of research organisations to retain scientists, educate students and deliver in-field advances to improve crop yield and quality in the face of climate change.
South Australian researchers have historically played an important role in the growth and success of the Australian agriculture industry, particularly in the fields of breeding and genetics. Removing the GM moratorium will provide greater opportunities to rigorously test and develop new crop varieties in South Australia suited to local conditions. It will also ensure South Australia stays at the forefront of crop research and that the broader economic benefits stay in this state.
– Associate Professor Matthew Tucker is Deputy Director of the Waite Research Institute and an ARC Future Fellow at the University of Adelaide.
WADE DABINETT, GRAIN PRODUCERS SA CHAIR
Every single day, grain producers across SA are making decisions in response to the environment, adapting their farming systems to the best available climate data and advice, and helping to put food on our tables.
GM technology is just another tool that farmers can use to help them reduce chemical usage, manage weeds, and deliver benefits to consumers.
Increasing climate variability underscores the need for SA’s farmers to have access to drought and frost tolerant GM crops that are currently being developed.
New generation varieties have the potential to benefit not only our farming community, but society more generally.
This includes omega-3 canola, the world’s first plant-based source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.
This has been developed right here in Australia by the CSIRO to help reduce reliance on fish stocks as a source of omega-3, which is vital for human health.
Put simply, the moratorium only removes the option of growing GM crops that we know to be safe and effective and penalises our industry.
An Independent Review found the moratorium has cost SA’s canola growers $33 million and untold agronomic benefits, with this penalty set to increase as new varieties become available.
As a farmer in the state’s Mallee, I can only look towards the Victorian border with envy.
Grain growers there are able to grow crops that are approved by the federal science-based regulator as safe and environmentally sound.
In fact, we know GM crops can help reduce the use of chemicals, reduce carbon emissions and increase crop yields.
These benefits give our interstate and overseas competitors an advantage that we are denied, and proves the industry is able to manage segregation of GM and non-GM varieties.
That is why Grain Producers SA strongly believes South Australian growers deserve the freedom to grow the cereal, legume and oilseed varieties that best fit their farming system.
The Government’s plan would mean that grain growers on mainland SA would be free to access innovative GM varieties, while growers on Kangaroo Island would still be able to access their specially developed GM-free canola market in Japan as part of an orderly transition.
As a farmer, I am in the best position to assess my farming system, the marketing of the crops, and the costs that come with different varieties.
It is time the politicians on North Terrace got out of the way.
- Wade Dabinett is chairman of Grain Producers SA
AGAINST GM CROPS IN SA:
BOB PHELPS, GENE ETHICS DIRECTOR
South Australia has banned the commercial growing of genetically manipulated (GM) crops since 2004. Parliament decided last year to keep the ban until 2025 but this was set to change until yesterday.
The Marshall government bypassed parliament with a sneaky regulation to allow Roundup tolerant GM canola to be grown from December 1, 2019.
So it is great news that well-informed Greens, ALP and SA Best MPs voted to disallow the government’s GM crop deregulation. They represent the vast majority of public, farming and food industry opinion which backs GM-free.
The government would have allowed the GM ban on Kangaroo Island to stay, as KI grain and oilseed growers, and beverage makers earn big premiums for their GM-free products. Farm, food and export sectors throughout SA also reap rewards from being GM-free but this government stalled on promoting the state’s great reputation for clean, green, GM-free food, fibre and beverages.
We therefore call on government to back the GM ban and vigorously promote the state’s great potential for GM-free futures. A 2016 Nielson survey found over half of shoppers globally avoid GM foods so GM-free is now among the fastest growing sectors. South Australia is well placed to capitalise on this growing market demand.
The GM moratorium will allow even more fine foods to be labelled GM-free, capturing the reputational and premium benefits throughout Australia and overseas.
Canola accounts for just 2 per cent of the value of SA farm production and those wanting to grow GM canola are a tiny fraction of all growers. Their choice to grow GM would be everyone else’s loss, which is foolish and unfair. Cross-contamination is common everywhere GM canola is grown, and spraying Roundup herbicide more often and at higher doses on food crops has adverse impacts too.
GM canola is discounted when sold for export, whilst EU and Asian markets pay large premiums for non-GM grains and oilseeds. The same fate would await any GM canola grown in SA. Last week GM canola discounts were $50/tonne in WA, $59/tonne in Melbourne, and $28/tonne in NSW.
Patented GM seed and brand-name Roundup herbicide cost more, so the GM and agrichemical industry would have had a profit bonanza. Everyone else would have been the big losers.
Claims that GM research is affected by the GM crop ban are wrong. Controlled, small-scale GM field trials that the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator approves can be grown anywhere in Australia.
South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and NT all remain GM-free so will continue to reap the rewards of their reputation for clean, green foods and beverages.
– Bob Phelps is Gene Ethics Director
Also today, a group of dissenting scientists from offshore has signed an open letter to SA politicians supporting the retention of the state ban on the growing of genetically modified (GM) crops. The move follows the publishing of a letter by five GM crop scientists in Monday’s edition of The Advertiser calling for the GM ban to be lifted.
First author and signatory is Dr Judy Carman, who founded the Institute of Health and Environmental Research at her home office in Adelaide.