HomeNewsLatest News Burke backs GM, despite WA Labor fighting to keep it out
Burke backs GM, despite WA Labor fighting to keep it out
Posted by Truth About Trade & Technology
Friday, 05 September 2008
Queensland Country Life
Original Publish Date: September 3, 2008
There will need to be a growing acceptance of genetically modified crops
throughout the world if global food shortages are to be properly dealt with,
now and in the future, says Federal Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke.
His comments are at odds though with Western Australian Labor Premier, Alan
Carpenter, who has been fighting to prevent the introduction of GM crops in
his State.
GM has become one of the headline election issues in the approach to this
week's tight State poll.
But Mr Burke told a conference in Canberra today there was no doubt GM crops
were a piece in the jigsaw puzzle in dealing with food production and food
shortages in an age of climate change.
The conference, which focused on agriculture in a changing climate, said the
need for a growing global acceptance of GM crops was "inevitable" if the
world was to appropriately deal with food shortages.
He said while it would always be important to ensure robust regulations were
in place to safeguard the use of the technology, it was necessary to look at
GM in an age where wealthy and poor nations were facing difficulties feeding
families either through food cost or availability.
The position is in contrast with Mr Carpenter who has been talking down GM
technology, saying its introduction was a "risk" posed by the election of a
Liberal Government this weekend.
Liberal party leader, Colin Barnett, is supporting trials of GM cotton and
canola, currently banned in WA.
But Mr Carpenter does not see any benefit for the State's $10 billion
agricultural food industry.
"We don't believe it's necessary, we don't believe the science is settled
enough to allow it to happen, we don't believe we should be taking the
risk," Mr Carpenter said.
"The Liberal Party are proposing large-scale GM commercial trials which in
effect just open the door for GM food and GM crops."
Despite his clear support for GM technology, Mr Burke said these issues
would still be dealt with by State governments consulting with farmers in
their own State.
"I have met with farmers in WA on each side of the debate and listened to
the strongly held positions," Mr Burke said.
"Over time, there will be increasing pressure to deal with GM crops as one
piece of the puzzle in dealing with climate change."
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