Sir Peter Elworthy’s legacy: the protection of New Zealand

The death of Sir Peter Elworthy is a cause of great sadness to his family and all who knew him, as well as a major loss for New Zealand.

Quite apart from an illustrious career in agriculture and commerce Sir Peter deserves a special place in the hearts of all New Zealanders as a voice of moderation and vision in the GM debate.

As chairman of the Sustainability Council Sir Peter spoke publicly about the benefits to this country of preserving GE-free production and in support of regulations that will prevent contamination of soil, groundwater and of conventional and organic foods.

At the 2002 launch of the Sustainability Council Sir Peter said the three main concerns for the Council were the GE trade risks, effects of GMOs on the environment and regulation of this powerful technology.

He voiced the concerns of most New Zealanders that these issues could not be adequately addressed in less than five years, and urged government to extend the moratorium on GE release into New Zealand’s environment.

GE Free NZ in food and environment acknowledge Sir Peter’s outstanding work in defending New Zealand against uncontrolled GE experimentation and contamination.

His legacy lives on in the form of informed public debate and widespread community support for the vision of a GE-Free production system that preserves our nation’s unique environment, trading opportunities and basic human rights.

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