14 April 2010.
Parliamentary Leader of Family First NSW, Dr Gordon Moyes AC, is urging the public to make submissions to the government’s independent Food Labelling Review if they share his concern over the genetically modified (GM) foods now coming into the Australian food supply.
Dr Moyes explained, “Consumers have the absolute right to know what they are buying to feed their families, and appropriate standards for labelling of foods, which will be monitored and enforced, are crucial.” Just last week it was announced that a GM soybean rejected by the EU and India has been approved for Australia because the tests run by the company that sells it says it is safe.
“What incentive does any company have to report truthfully? Has Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) never heard of ‘conflict of interest’, or know that bias can influence perception, or that data can be made to say anything? We need people guarding our population not yielding to pressure from multinational agribusiness!” claimed Dr Moyes. In contrast, an independent study revealed that the GM soybean had the same toxin as a GM eggplant that was rejected by the Indian government because it caused liver damage in rats.
Dr Moyes added, “The only GM food crops currently produced in Australia are canola and cotton but nearly all processed foods contain some GM products. And that is happening because Food Standards Australia New Zealand permits manufacturers to use a wide range of imported ingredients like GM soybeans, canola, corn, rice, sugarbeet, and potatoes, with absolutely no requirement that the foods be labelled to inform consumers. That is shocking, and needs to be addressed urgently.”
Dr Moyes believes strongly that every family has the right to know if their food comes from GM crops or animals fed GM crops, either directly or indirectly, and to make the choice of whether or not they are willing to take that risk. It should be a basic requirement that manufacturers disclose fully any use of GM ingredients no matter how small a proportion of the food.
Dr Moyes stated, “The public health of Australians is paramount, not multinational commercial interests. The precautionary principle says that if a policy has any suspected risk of causing harm, then in the absence of scientific consensus it simply must not be enacted. The greater the potential risk means the greater is the requirement for strict standards of independent evidence. Lacking that I say label all GM food clearly so the public can avoid it!” Make your submission at www.foodlabellingreview.gov.au by 14 May 2010. END.