Steve Marsh was stripped of his organic certification in December when a neighbour's GM canola blew onto his property in Kojonup in the south-west.
Mr Marsh is now suing his neighbour for loss of income, because he can no longer sell his produce at a premium.
His lawyer, Mark Walter, will issue a writ in the WA Supreme Court claiming Mr Marsh's neighbour was negligent.
He says it is a landmark case that will be watched closely by farmers across the country.
"It's an opportunity to provide all farmers with clarity as to how the law will deal with these circumstances," Mr Walter said.
"I think it's going to be very important because there are both conventional and unconventional farmers who are concerned as a result of the introduction of GM and how that may affect their farming practises and how they protect themselves from that form of contamination.
"It's likely to be an increasingly important issue because the prospect for further losses or unwanted contamination will rise."
GM canola has been grown in WA, Victoria and New South Wales since 2008.
AUGUST: A farmer near the site of a spill of genetically modified (GM) canola in the Great Southern in Western Australia says the seeds are now germinating.
Last week, a truck carrying more than 15 tonnes of GM canola caught fire on the Albany Highway near Williams in south-west Western Australia, spilling its contents onto the side of the road.
The spill has reignited the debate about the State Government's decision to lift its ban on GM canola last year.
Grain transporter Co-operative Bulk Handling issued a statement saying all appropriate protocols had been followed to remove the grain and prevent any contamination.
Narrakine farmer Geoff Reed says he is worried the germinating seeds will contaminate his non-GM oat crop.
"Saturday night we had nine [millimetres] of rain and that exposed a lot of seed that has just started to germinate," he said.
"There's millions of them there, they are spread along about 50 metres of the road-side in the water table."
My personal opinion of GM food is that there has been nowhere near enough, nor any long term studies completed on if and how it may affect our bodies, for all we know this could be another "Thalidomide" waiting to happen! If you haven't already obtained a copy of Jeffrey Smith's "Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods" do so, it's a worrying amount of data.
Arpad Pusztai and other scientists were shocked at their results of animals fed GM foods. Other independent studies showed stunted growth, impaired immune systems, bleeding stomachs, abnormal and potentially precancerous cell growth in the intestines, impaired blood cell development, misshaped cell structures in the liver, pancreas and testicles, altered gene expression and cell metabolism, liver and kidney lesions, partially atrophied livers, inflamed kidneys, less developed organs, reduced digestive enzymes, higher blood sugar, inflamed lung tissue, increased death rates and higher offspring mortality as well.
FULL story HERE
"Multiple animal studies have shown that GM foods cause damage to various organ systems in the body. With this mounting evidence, it is imperative to have a moratorium on GM foods for the safety of our patients' and the public's health," said Dr. Amy Dean, PR chair and Board Member of AAEM. "Physicians are probably seeing the effects in their patients, but need to know how to ask the right questions," said Dr. Jennifer Armstrong, President of AAEM. "The most common foods in North America which are consumed that are GMO are corn, soy, canola, and cottonseed oil." The AAEM's position paper on Genetically Modified foods can be found HERE
AAEM is an international association of physicians and other professionals dedicated to addressing the clinical aspects of environmental health.
More info HERE
Grow your own, buy organic and cook from scratch.....the best way to avoid most of it:)
2 Responses:
Another great posting.
Thanks.
It's good to know there are more people that care.
Thanks Gav, it certainly is a worry!
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