Western Australia is set to go ahead with trials of genetically modified
canola resistant to the pesticide Roundup, produced by global seed and
pesticide giant Monsanto.


The state Government says up to 20 farmers will trial a total of 1000
hectares of "Roundup Ready'' canola, next year.

State Agriculture Minister Terry Redman says the locations are yet to be
chosen and he has not yet decided what kind of distances will be maintained
between GM and non-GM crops.

"You're looking at sort of a spread of locations that has some reflection of
variability in terms of soil type and climate and so on,'' Mr Redman said.

The state's Department of Agriculture and Food and private grain handler
Cooperative Bulk Handling (CBH) will control the conditions under which it
is grown and transported.

"A big part of this trial is to assist the capacity to segregate our
systems,'' Mr Redman said.

"So there will be certain delivery points that will be declared to be able
to have GM canola delivered to.''

Opposition agricultural spokesman Mick Murray is concerned the government
has announced trials without knowing the conditions or protocols under which
they will proceed.

"I find it very, very difficult to believe that they'll be able keep it away
unless there's separate bins and separate areas to where it's delivered,''
Mr Murray said.

Mr Redman said segregation systems for different grain varieties were
already in place in WA and NSW and Victoria had been very successful in
maintaining the integrity of their systems.

"It's my understanding that they have determined particular bins to receive
GM canola now whether those bins also receive non-GM canola I don't know.''

The state Government will also investigate appropriate labelling
requirements but Mr Redman says if a food product has a GM source but no
identifiable genetically modified DNA in it, then it should not be labelled.

"Presently in Australia, anything that's got more than one percent GM
content has got to be labelled,'' he said.

"And likewise there's no requirement to label, meat that comes from animals
that were fed from GM material.

"If you've got an oil that comes from a GM source that's got no measurable
GM material in it, how does someone defend the fact that it's either from or
not from a GM source?''

The previous Labor Government supported low-level GM canola trials on
quarantined areas of up to 10 hectares.
www.checkbiotech.org