2019 Letter, Genetic Engineering in New Zealand

For the attention of all New Zealand Regional Councils and Councillors

Copies to: All New Zealand Councillors; District Health Boards and Public Health Units; All MPs and other appropriate recipients

5 November 2019

As recently elected representatives of residents in your region we acknowledge your responsibility and concerns for sustainable land use, limiting the consequences of releasing genetically engineered organisms into your environment, and preserving the reputation and integrity of regional economies for exporting clean, safe products that New Zealand overseas markets buy from us knowing they are free of genetically engineered DNA.

Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility is a Charitable Trust established to provide independent scientific assessment and advice on matters relating to genetic engineering and other scientific and medical matters. In this capacity, informative letters have been regularly addressed to all New Zealand Councillors since 2003.

It is important that Councillors know what genetically engineered organisms are and the reasons for the need for precaution particularly in the face of recent commercial pressure for the release of genetically engineered ryegrass in the New Zealand environment and deregulation of gene editing such as CRISPR (cas9). The High Court of New Zealand and equivalent courts in the European Union have supported regulation of gene edited products as genetically engineered organisms (GEO). Consumers, producers and exporters benefit from protections to preserve non-engineered production and maintain the integrity of food safety and labelling systems.

Councillors should also be aware of the tremendous efforts for close to two decades made by Councils in Northland, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay to protect ratepayers from the risks of releasing genetically engineered organisms into the New Zealand environment. These policies and protections are included in regional plans as an important local tier of oversight.

One concern for councils taken up by Local Government NZ has been the request for government to introduce strict liability to moderate commercial risk-taking that is ‘socialised’ on ratepayers. As some vested interests lobby for ‘deregulation’ there is also a growing call for the BioEthics Council to be reinstated, to advise on ethical issues such as gene editing in humans and farm animals. This situation has led us to send the following material. We ask all re-elected and new councillors to read and absorb so that each representative can meet their duty of care to those in their region from a sound knowledge base.

Content of letter accessible here (PDF):

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