GM onion details kept secret

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

The commercial benefits of a field trial of genetically modified onions and the name of the secret partner involved have been kept under wraps at a Government hearing.

Crop & Food Research has applied to the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) to begin field trials of the onions which it wants to run over 10 years at a secret location near Lincoln.

It wants to assess the impact of the onions, which have been designed to be resistant to Roundup, and says the outdoor trial is required to test their effects in a normal environment.

Field trials like the Crop & Food's project were not covered by the moratorium lifted last week and have been allowed to continue.

The scientists involved in the project say the risk of GM contamination to other plants is extremely minimal and the benefits of such a crop would outweigh any risk. They believe an engineered onion crop would require 70 per cent less herbicide treatment.

At the first day of a three-day hearing in Christchurch yesterday, one scientist involved told the Erma panel he "could not imagine a simpler application for you to consider".

The application concerns onions modified for tolerance to glyphosate, a low-toxicity, biodegradable herbicide. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto's big-selling Roundup herbicide.

But the proposal came under tough scrutiny from the panel, forcing the scientists to admit that the finer details of the proposal had yet to be worked out.

The leader of the project, Dr Colin Eady, was asked who would own the intellectual property rights to the seed production should the field trials go ahead and be successful.

Dr Eady said those details had not been worked out.

He was also asked about the possible scenario of the modified gene spreading into other crops nearby and if that happened who would own those crops.

Dr Eady said he did not know as that had not been worked out.

Asked what obligation he would have towards other growers if any "contamination" sparked a significant economic effect, Dr Eady debated the risk factor of the trial.

He said he was confident there would be no contamination, but was told he was "not asked about risk analysis, but what if it did happen".

Dr Eady conceded he could not answer that question without further discussion with others at Crop & Food.

The scientist's estimation that the engineered crops would eventually lead to a 70 per cent reduction in herbicide use was challenged by an Auckland consultant, Richard Wood, contracted by Erma. He said the reduction would more likely be 40 to 50 per cent.

Erma received more than 1900 submissions on the proposed trial after it was publicly notified in July.

But only a handful of submitters were invited to speak during the hearing, which left many anti-GM groups frustrated.

GE Free New Zealand president Claire Bleakley said the timeframe was unfair and the inflexibility of the hearings being held only in Christchurch meant many people who made submissions could not personally speak to their concerns.

However, she and a colleague, Susie Lees, were able to ask questions of Crop & Food during the hearing and put to Dr Eady that the secret collaborator was the US seed company Seminis.

Seminis has already undertaken work on making onions tolerant to glyphosate but it made headlines by developing a fluorescent green protein and inserting it in vegetables like onions - essentially making them glow in the dark.

The Seminis website confirms it does have research partnerships with Crop & Food Research but does not say what that research looks at.

Yesterday's hearing was also attended by a group of protesters, one of whom scaled the foyer at the Christchurch Convention Centre and hung a banner saying "No dodGE onions". He removed the banner and climbed down when police asked him to.

The hearing continues today with more submissions.


The application

The Environmental Risk Management Authority will consider an application to plant onions modified for tolerance to glyphosate, a low-toxicity, biodegradable herbicide.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto's popular Roundup herbicide

More than 1900 people and organisations have made submissions on the Crop & Food Research plans.