increase font size
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford
Federated Farmers supports a review of the current genetic technology legislation but insists that a farmer’s right to either choose or reject it must be protected.
Feds president Wayne Langford appeared before the parliamentary health select committee to present Federated Farmers’ views on the use of genetic technologies.
“We know this is a hot topic with our members, so I was very upfront with the politicians that farmers’ views on this issue are about as diverse as our individual farming systems,” Langford says.
He noted that many Feds members are in support of reforms, some are neutral, and others are firmly opposed.
“That’s why I put a real focus in my submission on protecting a farmer’s right to choose,” he says.
Langford says Federated Farmers operate a democratic voting system driven from the grassroots up, not from the top down, and “we’ve taken the same approach in forming our view on this issue”.
“After a lot of debate, delegates from our 24 provinces who sit on our National Council agreed to support a review of the current legislation and advocate for the benefits of genetic technology.
“That being said, we also put a very clear condition on that support: that an individual farmer’s right to choose must be protected.
“This means, as much as practicable, there need to be controls or systems put in place to block the spread of GE organisms onto properties of farmers who don’t want it.”
Langford notes that other countries, like Australia, have gone through similar reform. They now have growing rather than shrinking GE-free and organics industries, farming alongside use of GE crops, he points out.
“There are still questions around how we can achieve this ‘right to choose’, given our different climate and farming systems. That’s what needs more investigation, and careful drafting of regulation.
“We also propose regular system reviews to ensure whatever is brought in is working for all farmers and growers.”
On trade, Langford says giving farmers the right to choose will mean individual farmers and the companies they supply can determine this, taking into consideration their customers’ preferences.
“Whichever side of the fence you’re on regarding this topic, I hope you can see we’ve listened carefully to both sides of the argument and tried to find a pathway forward,” he says.
“Ultimately, it’s individual farmers who should be able to weigh up the worth of any premium from being GE-free, compared to any benefits of using a GE crop or grass.”
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of GM.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
