An open letter from Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility (PSGR) urges Members of Parliament to pause the Gene Technology Bill until the European Commission finalises its legislation, highlighting critical concerns about deregulation.
While Europe’s proposed changes focus solely on plants, New Zealand’s bill encompasses plants, animals, and microbes, including gene-editing techniques not deregulated elsewhere.
The letter raises issues around transparency, the absence of the Precautionary Principle, and insufficient risk assessments, economic analysis, and biosecurity impact studies.
It also warns that current proposals could allow 94% of gene-edited foods to bypass premarket safety assessments, jeopardizing food safety and traceability.
Full text of Open Letter
Dear Members of Parliament,
Please put the Gene Technology Bill on hold, pending a European Commission outcome.
Why?
- Proposed European legislation has stalled’ (see attached April 12, 2024 draft).
- In Europe, deregulation exclusively concerns plants, while in New Zealand deregulation would encompass plants, animals, and microbes.
- New Zealand would deregulate techniques of gene editing that have not been deregulated anywhere else. However, this ‘point of difference’ is not clearly disclosed.
- The European Commission has drafted significant caveats, including transparency provisions and protections for non-GMO breeders into their proposed legislation.
- MBIE claims that the Precautionary Principle approach is outdated. Precaution with newly created gene edited organisms is never outdated, due to new compounds being produced.
- Note that in the European Commission legislation, the Precautionary Principle text is included. The Precautionary Principle must be inserted in any legislation claiming to steward GMOs which include gene editing techniques and gene edited organisms.
- The current Bill must be thoroughly understood by MP’s in light of proposed FSANZ changes in regulation – current proposals could result in 94% of gene edited foods avoiding premarket assessment (and traceability). Food safety of these GE foods is very unlikely to have been assessed.
In New Zealand it is claimed that the legislation will be ‘evidence based’ and ‘risk proportionate’, but it cannot be:
- If these claims for ‘evidence’ and ‘risk’ are exclusively based on Australian legislation.
- If the technical experts are a small group of people who may work for organisations that receive funding for biotechnology research and where their scope of feedback is restricted.
- Neither Biosecurity nor the Ministry for the Environment have conducted an assessment or impact analysis on how the resulting legislation will impact them.
- No economic analysis has been undertaken.
- Assessment of global consumer willingness to pay a premium for GMO-free food has not been included.
- No assessment of risk as technologies scale up and releases into the environment speed up, following deregulation.
Please find attached:
- PSGR October Fact Check 101 which discusses these issues, and provides links to the European Commission document
- European Commission draft document
- Article by trustee Jodie Bruning (B.Bus.Agribus., M.A.) which discusses policy papers that were released this week
Kind regards| Ngā mihi
Elvira Dommisse
BSc(Hons), PhD (Biotechnology)
For the Trustees of
Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Image credit: Getty Images
This country is toast.
Can we gene edit politicians to stop them being corrupt?
Well their was this safe and effective procedure that they side stepped that may have done the job.
How about cancer concerns?
Cancer? Then big pharma gets a slice as well, a double win.
This place is f***ed.The cowboy-ism in the name of pure greed we see here and in Australia, is some of the very worst in the world. Will people stop voting for this globalist trash, on the so called left and right (try uni party) why of course not! That would be a wasted vote. As if voting for these grafting creeps isn’t the very definition of abject waste.
I’ll add this is inflicting “Dutch Disease” on the NZ economy. Trade in agriculture and horticulture are still cornerstones. China, Japan, Russia and Italy, to name a few, don’t like Frankenfood.
Either National and co are incredibly stupid or greedy……my best guess is a little of both…..
Looks like we are going to have to pay them a visit again.
They really are trying to destroy our farming industry, we all thought labour had inflicted enough damage but with the changing of the guard National decides to really put the nail in the coffin, the worlds moving towards natural food, think we have all had enough of gene technology, the results are disastrous.
One of the genetically altered corn causes the insect to bloat and explode. Great for killing off the insect but causes ulcers in humans.
That is why Mexico has banned it.
Disgusting when such things have been perfected over thousands of years of agriculture.
Copied & pasted this and another related article & sent it to my MP instructing them NOT to vote for ‘Judy’ Collin’s anti-human Gene Technology’ bill.
WE WILL NOT COMPLY!!!
National and Act have 60 seats. Will NZ First be joining its coalition partners voting for this bill?
Maybe another visit is in order if they try to push this through without public consultation.
No doubt the media has glossed over what this means for the country. 25 years ago GMO was successfully pushed back against, it can happen again if people are informed
RFK Jr. is working to abolish immunity from the vaccine makers in the U.S.;
Compare that to what Judy Collins is working to promote such anti-human laws here in NZ-
https://citizenwatchreport.com/rfk-jr-is-looking-at-removing-immunity-protections-from-vaccine-manufacturers-to-hold-them-accountable-for-harmful-vaccines/