If MAF Won’t Do The Job, The People Will

Press Release

The People’s Moratorium Enforcement Agency (PMEA)
Sunday, June 6 2004

If MAF won’t do the job, the people will

‘The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has decided that the "best course of action" for genetically modified corn growing in New Zealand now is to allow "the normal harvesting" of the plants and leave it up to the farmers to ensure full destruction. This is a total violation of the people’s moratorium and of New Zealand’s zero tolerance for GE.' Said PMEA spokeswoman Lenka Rochford.

‘The PMEA will do what MAF is clearly unwilling to do – remove genetically modified crops from the ground. We will conduct our own seed testing and if contamination is found, we will encourage concerned citizens to remove the polluted plants.’

‘This whole fiasco shows that MAF has no strategy for dealing with accidental contamination. They are keeping the locations of the plantings secret which denies citizens the right to know if their own crops are being contaminated.’

‘This is a stealthy attempt by the Government to get rid of the zero threshold for GE altogether. They can say, “its already here, so we might as well make a tolerable level.” For the 70% of New Zealanders who don’t want GE in their food or environment, this just isn’t good enough.’

‘The PMEA Action Road show leaves on July 6 to travel the length and breadth of New Zealand encouraging direct action against GE contamination. Seed testing will take place along the way. In the meantime, we will be publishing ‘Dig for Victory – the Aotearoa Anti-GE Handbook’ to give people the tools to carry out direct actions including blockades and decontamination.’

ENDS

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