The race is not always won by the swift. - Aesop's Fable
Gene Technology Bill
A hit-or-miss approach to gene technology could be catastrophic for New Zealand and its peoples.
There’s no certainty that GMOs are safe or beneficial.
Public submissions are now being called for the Gene Technology Bill.
The closing date for submissions is Monday, 17 February 2025.
The Bill is supposed to enable the safe use of gene technology, including genetically modified organisms. It covers gene technology activities, including.medical uses and genetic modification of species.
Gene Technology Bill 110-1 (2024), Government Bill Explanatory note
A single government appointed individual, the ‘Gene Technology Regulator’ will oversee the approvals of genetic technologies. The government aims to pass legislation and introduce a gene technology regulator before the end of this year.
Clause 187 of the Bill protects the regulator and his or her agents from civil and criminal liability for any act that they do, or omit to do, in carrying out their duties.
Most troubling, the Bill enables authorisation in specific circumstances, namely:
Mandatory medical activity authorisations: for a human medicine that is or contains gene technology that has been approved by at least two recognised overseas Gene Technology Regulators.
Emergency authorisations: when there is an actual or imminent threat to the health and safety of people or to the environment, for example, threat from a disease outbreak or an industrial spillage. The Minister responsible for the Bill when enacted (the Minister) will have the power to grant an emergency authorisation.that will enable medical mandates.
These provisions pre-empt the findings of Phase Two of the Royal Commission, which is yet to consider the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Treaty obligations
The regulator will have the power to exempt specific gene technologies from regulations and the Bill will enable NZ to rely on assessments made by overseas regulators, a practice that may not reflect Treaty of Waitangi principles.
There are significant issues of interest to Māori.
The long term effects of mRNA technology and GMOs are unknown.
Once GMOs have been introduced into the environment, it is impossible to eliminate them.
There’s a connection between GMOs and increased pesticide use, resulting in a chemical-intensive model of farming.
GMOs & Toxic Pesticides - Greenpeace
Once in the aquatic ecosystem, pesticides cause losses to fisheries in several ways.
At high concentrations in water, they kill fish directly; at low doses they can kill
fish fry or eliminate essential fish food, such as insects and other invertebrates.
The negative economic impact of the demise of pollinators, including bees, due to the use of glyphosate and other pesticides is incalculable.
One of the main limitations for the marketing of honey is the presence of
chemical residues.
Note that in Colombia, the impact on the relationship between ethnic communities and the ecology of their territories resulted in a ruling that states: “The precautionary principle requires that the State control risks to human health by means of constitutionally reasonable regulation, when there is objective evidence of such risks, even if the evidence is not conclusive”.
Unrealistic expectations
Those promoting the Bill in New Zealand have unrealistic expectations that provisions of the Bill will help New Zealand keep up with overseas innovations and reduce red tape applied to research that they promise is low risk to the environment.
Gene Technology Bill introduced to parliament - Expert Reaction - Science Media Centre
Before New Zealand embarks on another warp-speed initiative, simply to keep up with other countries, we should look to the past and to emerging research.
In agriculture
GM crops might crossbreed with wild plants or non-GM crops, leading to the spread of modified genes that could cause unintended environmental changes, such as the development of "superweeds" that are resistant to herbicides.
The introduction of herbicide-tolerant GMOs has led to the increased use of
glyphosate. This has caused indirect effects on elements crucial for soil ecology, including fungi and bacteria.
There are ethical concerns relating to the integrity of species and ecosystems. Non-target beneficial insects, such as bees are at risk. Water species may be harmed from run-off..
Unquantifiable risk
GMOs have been deemed safe by organisations such as the World Health Organisation (which is not known for transparency, or acknowledgement, relating to safety issues). The WHO says GM foods currently available on the international market have passed safety assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health. Food, genetically modified
The truth is nobody knows.
In health
Pharmaceutical companies and politicians told us that mRNA technology was safe and effective.
There is now clear evidence that there were major problems that were hidden from the people of New Zealand and the world. There is now a chorus of calls for mRNA vaccines to be withdrawn, for safety reasons.
Among them are signatories to the HOPE Accord, including 1900 medical doctors, 5703 other healthcare professionals and 2022 scientists and academics. They recommend the immediate suspension of the COVID-19 vaccine products: “A growing body of evidence suggests that the widespread rollout of the novel Covid-19 mRNA vaccine products is contributing to an alarming rise in disability and excess deaths.”
A dossier of research presents over 100 peer-reviewed studies that, taken together with evidence of the spike protein’s pathogenicity, suggest that the mRNA vaccines can distribute harmful, long-lasting spike protein uncontrollably throughout the body, causing injuries and death by various means.
https://zenodo.org/records/14559625
Strategies to reduce the risks of mRNA drug and vaccine toxicity | Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology: Risks and Opportunities | RAND
In the USA a lawsuit against Pfizer, which alleged the company misled the public about its COVID vaccine’s effectiveness has been dismissed. Pfizer argued that the law provided sweeping protection for vaccine makers.
We should not hand over our health sovereignty to overseas regulators, or to an unelected government appointed regulator in New Zealand.
Lessons from the past
India’s experience with ‘safe and effective’ Bt Cotton did not have a happy ending.
Those opposed say that the introduction of Bt genes in cotton has not been useful.
It’s questioned why farmers are being made to pay a high price for a failed technology.
A 2023 article by award winning journalist Bharat Dogra warns about the corporate-led farming path in India:
“Hence what we have seen in recent times is that the government has been trying to somehow dress up an ecologically harmful corporate-led model of farming as a model that is ecologically sustainable and good for farmers. In this attempt it is able to draw from the wider efforts being made at the global level by big corporate interests to present a false picture of the kind of farming and food system needed in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation to serve their narrow interests.”
Bayer-ICAR Collaboration Raises Serious Concerns Regarding Indian Farm Policy| Countercurrents
The issue remains a hot topic in India's agricultural policy.
Author Colin Todhunter referred to a memorandum of understanding that the Indian Council for Agricultural Research signed with Bayer in September 2023.
“Bayer has a view of what agriculture should look like and is gaining increasing control of farmers in various countries in terms of having a direct influence on how they farm and what inputs they use. Its digital platforms are intended to be one-stop shops for carbon credits, seeds, pesticides and fertilisers and agronomic advice, all supplied by the company, which gets the added benefit of control over the agronomic and financial data harvested from farms.”
Indian scholar Vandana Shiva refers to ‘a new toxic colonisation’.
But Bayer insists it has provided incontestable benefits to farmers, resulting in their broad adoption in the main agricultural producing countries:
“While every agricultural technology has some impact on biodiversity, more intensive, efficient agriculture – including GM crops – makes it possible to grow as much food as needed on existing agricultural land without further expanding into natural habitats.”
https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture-overview
Bt cotton - the facts behind the hype
Exclusive: Monsanto pulls new GM cotton seed from India in protest | Reuters
Genetically Modified crops Bt Cotton: A Story of Conflicting Perspectives – Indjournals
The Gene Technology Bill sets the stage for control of the agricultural sector and corporate dependency.
Clause 187 of the Bill offers the regulator, his or her agents and advisors protection from civil and criminal liability.
The granting of legal immunity is immoral and insulting.
Is CRISPR Worth the Risk? | Yale Insights
In Mexico, the push to protect corn dates back to 2007.
It is illegal to grow genetically modified corn on Mexican soil. In 2020, Mexico expanded the prohibition with a decree banning all GMO corn, including imports, as of January 31, 2024, on the grounds that doing so protected its food security, its rural communities, its food heritage and the health of its people.
It also announced that it would impose strict limits on the import, distribution and use of the contentious herbicide glyphosate – widely used in GMO farming.
Bayer (which bought Monsanto Company) wields significant influence in food production.
In the 2023 financial year, the Bayer Group had sales of 47.6 billion euros (NZ$87.34 billion) while it spent 5.8 billion euros (NZ$10.64 billion) on research and development.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon says he's 'very proud' that the ban on gene technology outside the lab will be overturned. I urge him and his ministers to read a report on genetically modified corn, and its effects, updated by the Government of Mexico in September 2024.
SCIENTIFIC DOSSIER ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN AND ITS EFFECTS
The following passages, from the 182 page document, demonstrate why the New Zealand government should not rush into any facilitation of gene technology.
Today there is no scientific consensus on the safety of human or animal consumption and the releasing into the environment of GM crops. What there is, however, is a corpus of scientific research that has shown that transgenesis is an imprecise technology with unexpected and undesired effects; in particular, it has demonstrated the risks and harm it entails.
In addition, groups of scientists, free of conflicts of interest, have shown that the consumption of GM corn is harmful to the health of laboratory and farm animals, affecting in particular the organs of their reproductive and digestive systems, as well as causing exacerbated immunological and allergic reactions, increased mortality rates and the development of chronic degenerative diseases, especially cancer.
GMOs have also failed to reduce the quantity of insecticides… In fact, the insecticide toxins produced by GM plants have led to the development of resistance among insect pests.
As for herbicides, the curve shows that there has even been an increase in their use over time following the introduction of herbicide tolerant GM crops (mainly glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium).
The planting of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant GMOs has led to the emergence of "superweeds" and "super pests", respectively, which has meant an increase in the quantity and types of pesticides used on agricultural land.
Studies have detected the presence of glyphosate and AMPA residues in water, as well as in foods such as grains (barley, oats, rye and wheat), processed products (bread, breakfast cereals, corn syrup, flour and baking mixes, wheat cakes and snacks, bran flour and soy-based products) and other products (pulses and pulse-based foods, peas and GM soybeans).124 Traces of glyphosate and its derivatives have been detected in a large number of foods, especially those containing technologically-produced cereals such as oats, canola, wheat and soybeans.
In Switzerland samples of different foods were analysed with glyphosate residues being found in pasta (identified as a highly relevant food in terms of glyphosate residue intake in that country), wine, fruit juice and almost all honey samples.
In the United States, glyphosate has also been detected in wine and beer, as well as in drinking water.
In December 2023 the American Academy of Pediatrics in the United States published a clinical report by Committee on Nutrition medical specialists, revealing the close relationship between glyphosate and GMOs and warning about the measurable amounts of this herbicide in a broad range of GMO-based foods available to children and adolescents.
It is emphatically clear that GM crop technology has focused on agricultural aspects related to yield, disregarding the nutritional quality of the products which are intended mainly for manufacturing ultra-processed foods. The foregoing highlights the important role of pediatricians in informing families about the potential risks of GMO and glyphosate ingestion, as well as recommending the consumption of organic foods.
Other studies in dairy cows, in which glyphosate was also detected, indicate that the main excretion pathway of this agrotoxin is through the feces, and that the degradation of glyphosate and AMPA by rumen microbes, as well as their possible retention in animals’ bodies, needs to be taken into consideration.
At this stage it is very clear that human exposure to glyphosate is widespread and constant, occurring not only in agricultural environments but also in urban and periurban centers.
It is known that glyphosate is being detected in the general population of industrialized countries, with a higher prevalence in children, as well as in people from agricultural areas.
In 2018 another study measured urine glyphosate levels in a sample of 71 pregnant women in the state of Indiana in the US, with 93% found to have glyphosate levels above the detection limit.
Furthermore, studies conducted on infants found that glyphosate was associated with alterations in the development of the reproductive organs of girls, suggesting that glyphosate acted as an endocrine disruptor.
Glyphosate-resistant GM soybeans have been grown in Argentina for nearly thirty years, turning glyphosate spraying into a daily occurrence in this country. This has caused irreparable damage to the health of the population, where an increase in cases of cancer, congenital malformations, as well as endocrine and reproductive disorders has been reported. Alarm bells rang in Argentina when agrochemicals were found in the blood of 80% of tested children living in a suburb of the city of Córdoba, surrounded by fields growing GM soybeans and sprayed with different agrochemicals. Mothers had been complaining about the high incidence of several diseases for years. The foregoing is consistent with another study conducted in that country, which analyzed people in eight rural communities who were exposed to agricultural pesticides. The findings revealed that the incidence of cancer in these areas was significantly higher than among the general population, especially for people aged 15 to 44. Furthermore, cancer mortality rates were also higher in these rural areas compared to the national average.
In Brazil, in 2022 milk samples were collected from lactating women from urban and rural areas of the city of Francisco Beltrão, Paraná, during the peak period of glyphosate usage on corn and soybean crops in the region, which is noted for the presence of GM crops. The aim was to test for the presence of glyphosate in breast milk and characterize environmental exposure. Glyphosate was found in 100% of the samples analysed, as well as in drinking water samples from the urban area and in well water in the rural area of the region where the study population lived. Breastfed babies are considered to have ingested amounts of glyphosate during the 6-month period.
A review of the scope of international scientific literature with international evidence of the presence of pesticides in children’s urine samples, and their effects on health, identified a number of studies of pesticides in the urine of populations from various parts of the world. These studies included several investigations showing that infants are exposed to pesticide residues through food intake and the use of these toxic substances. Reported effects included neuronal damage, diabetes, obesity and lung impairments.
In Colombia, the eradication of illicit coca cultivation with glyphosate was suspended …to guarantee the rights of the ethnic communities of the department of Chocó – in particular to a healthy environment and good health – against impacts on the physical, cultural, social and economic integrity of these communities by the spraying of glyphosate.
According to a group of experts convened by the WHO and FAO, "the pre-market safety assessment already ensures that the food (GM) is as safe as its conventional counterpart". Since then, there has been a reported lack of transparency on the part of the regulatory authorities in the US regarding risk assessments and scientific evidence of the safety and security of GMOs.
SCIENTIFIC DOSSIER ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN AND ITS EFFECTS
This Mexican report warns that international standards and regulations governing biotechnology are fragmented and do not comprehensively cover all aspects necessary for efficient regulation. It cites more than 1,000 references.
Food Safety: Focus on Real Risks, Not Fake Ones | Academics Review
NZ decision makers should not be naive about tactics used by corporations to manipulate science, attack scientists and journalists, and influence regulatory agencies to protect their profits.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is the main international legal agreement regulating GMOs. A key feature of the Protocol is the precautionary principle that has served as a guide for dealing with the uncertainty inherent in scientific progress concerning protection of environmental and human health:
“Measures based on risk assessment shall be imposed to the extent necessary
to prevent adverse effects of the living modified organism on the conservation
and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to
human health...”
https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cartagena-protocol-en.pdf
In conclusion, to proceed with this Bill is reckless and counter-productive to the people, animals and biodiversity of New Zealand Aotearoa.
This ill considered Bill should be scrapped as it threatens national sovereignty, environmental integrity and human rights.
Economically, New Zealand could profitably capitalise on its GE Free status.
Yes, please put in your submission! And thanks for the feedback.
Thank you Keri for your thoughtful explanation.
This is what troubles me too:
Most troubling, the Bill enables authorisation in specific circumstances, namely:
- Mandatory medical activity authorisations: for a human medicine that is or contains gene technology that has been approved by at least two recognised overseas Gene Technology Regulators.
- Emergency authorisations: when there is an actual or imminent threat to the health and safety of people or to the environment, for example, threat from a disease outbreak or an industrial spillage. The Minister responsible for the Bill when enacted (the Minister) will have the power to grant an emergency authorisation.
That will enable medical mandates. ‼️‼️
I suppose there will be a possibility to put in submissions just as with the Treaty Principles Bill Submissions closed yesterday and broke the system 👍😀