Leading plant researchers from the University of Adelaide say the time
has come for a serious debate on the issue of genetic modification of food
crops.
Professor Peter Langridge and Professor Mark Tester of the Australian
Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG) have today come out in support
of the Federal Government's latest GM report GM Canola: An Information
Package.

They argue that to manage issues such as climate change and land
degradation, Australia needs to embrace the full spectrum of human ingenuity
and science, including technologies such as genetic engineering.

"We now have yet another report that demonstrates the economic and
environmental benefits that could be achieved through the introduction of GM
canola into Australia," Professor Langridge said.

He said the latest figures show that GM crop adoption has grown by
around 12pc every year since the first release of GM crops in 1996.

Exhaustive studies in Europe and other parts of the world into the
environmental and human safety issues related to GM crops have also been
conducted, he added.

"These studies have found no evidence of any negative effects and
indeed suggest that GM foods are safer than conventional foods due to the
high degree of scrutiny and analysis required for registration of a GM food
crop," Professor Tester said.

"If we are going to make real progress in the way we use new
technologies, it is important that we have an open and honest debate,
particularly about technologies such as genetic engineering," Professor
Langridge adds.


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