Warnings On Lethal GE Virus-Contraceptive

Monday, 15 January 2001, 9:53 am
Press Release: Unknown

GE Free New Zealand
In Food And Environment (RAGE) Inc.

14 January 2001

Australian Scientist's Warnings On Lethal GE Virus-Contraceptive A Wake-Up Call For NZ Researchers

The announcement by Australian researchers that an experiment to develop a mouse contraceptive had unexpected and lethal results is an alarm-call for New Zealand scientists working on a contraceptive virus for possums, says GE-Free NZ. Though the report (below) is on a separate project from the work underway to develop a possum-targeted contraceptive, the scientific issues raised show the need for the utmost caution.

“We hope this will be bought to the attention of the Royal Commission", says Jon Carapiet, spokesperson for GE-Free NZ. “Even if GE food is banned as world consumers reject it, genetic engineering is still being touted as a miracle solution to many problems. This discovery shows how primitive our scientific understanding really is. The superficial appeal of killing pesky possums cannot justify the immense dangers that irreversible releases represent."

ENDS

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