Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) is calling on MAF and the Environmental Risk Management Authority to stop a genetic engineering field trial in Canterbury, after they were presented with evidence that rules designed to prevent contamination of non-GE crops were not being followed.

Dr Jon Tanner, OANZ Chief Executive Officer, said that Plant and Food Research's GE brassicas trial near Lincoln should be halted before more planting takes place at the end of the month.

"Plant and Food Research admit committing a professional foul, and the trial should be given a red card before new planting brings about environmental and economic damage", Dr Tanner said.

GE research not securely managed
He said the trial had already proven one thing - that GE research is not being securely managed, posing a risk of contaminating other plants and animals, with unknown and unforeseeable effects.

The NZ Soil & Health Association spokesperson Steffan Browning said the statement on National Radio by Plant & Food Research’s chief operating officer Dr Bruce Campbell that only one flower was at issue, that a guard row would catch any pollen, and that no plants remained at the site,was an attempt to cover up failings at the field trial.

“Dr Campbell was quite wrong to say that there was just one flower on one stem. Several flowers had opened and Dr Campbell and his staff not only have had access to my photographs of the split stem with the two flower heads that included a seed pod from a fertilised flower but have that stem in their possession,” said Mr Browning.

Pollen released into environment
Mr Brownng said each of the opened flowers will have released pollen into the environment and GE seed pods may have resulted on non-GE brassicas in the area as a result.

"A wide range of brassicas including broccoli, cabbage, forage kale and cauliflower would have been susceptible to insect or wind pollination.”

Guard row not sufficient protection
To say a guard row completely surrounding the site would intercept any pollen was incorrect. Even a complete and robust guard or buffer row would not have been able to completely prevent pollen from going beyond the site, while the one in existence had been chopped back in August with occasional regrowth and many weeds.

The statement that all GE plants had been removed and destroyed was also wrong, said Mr Browning, with at least one experimental plant and one buffer row plant still evident among the weeds at the site.

He said the brassica trial had, like the Scion GE pine tree trial, shown poor monitoring of consent conditions.

GE research was a waste of New Zealand's research dollar, with no demand, locally or internationally for GE crops, he said.