Organic sector backtracks on GE

The policy, an election promise from National in 2023, would see an end to what has been labelled an ‘effective ban’ on gene editing and genetic modification.

In August, the Government stated it would review current legislation on gene editing rules.

At the time, OANZ welcomed the review, saying that while progress was steady on the regulations, it believed genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to be a non-permitted activity.

However, following a series of meetings in Wellington late last month, the organisation has backtracked on its stance, claiming that, so far, they haven’t been consulted with on the policy.

At a meeting with the Primary Production Select Committee hearing, OANZ chief executive Tiffany Tompkins said the organisation had been left out of discussions on the reforms.

“When we are looking at the changes to regulation around gene technology, we have been talked a lot about, we have been included in conversations with other people, but we have not actually had direct conversations with government about these regulations,” Tompkins told the committee.

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As a result, she says, OANZ came to government to learn about the potential new regulations and how the regulations will impact the organics sector.

“We’re keen to understand the risk assessment that is the baseline for the regulations that will be read through Parliament,” she says.

Professor Jack Heinemann told the committee that the proposed reforms would make New Zealand an outlier in its regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

“There’s the potential here to radically under-regulate GMOs even compared to the major GMO exporting countries, including the US and Australia,” Heinemann says.

He says the reforms will provide a “hack” which will allow industry to use deregulated processes to make products that would have otherwise been classified as higher risk, erodes traceability and “opens the door to intentional or unintentional industrial sabotage”.

Currently, Heinemann says, only 15 countries have deregulated or changed their regulations regarding GMOS.

“Over half of those are the major GMO exporters, not countries like New Zealand. There’s only another 20 countries who are in the process that we are in of discussing changes,” he says.