Happening somewhere in the world near you.

Earth Day dates back to 1970 when the first one was held in the U.S.A., but this year’s in particular is a day for sober reflection, says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore.

“Every day there are email notifications calling for action on multiple environmental disasters. Unlike the finance reports however, which appear without fail in news bulletins and newspapers, many of these issues receive no coverage at all.

“You name it, it’s happening – the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and the habitat of indigenous peoples for gold-mining; farmland and forest being turned into palm oil plantations;  attempts by corporations to patent a plant that has been used for thousands of years or to introduce genetically manipulated organisms into land or water when they have not been proven to be safe for human health or the environment. And of course the biggest potential environmental catastrophe of our time, climate change with its more frequent extreme weather and fire events, melting ice and glaciers, and rising sea levels. (more…)

Introduction
Thankyou for the opportunity to comment on this important issue. Our submission seeks to raise a number of issues of concern rather than focus on the detail of the NFP. We endorse the excellent work being done by community groups and others advocating for the sustainability principles that comprise the basis of our approach to food growing and provision.

Issues of concern
The Braidwood Greens believe that the government’s National Food Plan (NFP) will not deliver the  safe, secure, sustainable, local, GM­-free food systems that Australia needs, and we call on the Minister to discard the current plan and start again, to create an NFP that puts the health, well-being and sustenance of Australians at the forefront. The first priority of any NFP ought to be affordable, local, fresh, minimally processed and health-­giving  foods for all. (more…)

Farmers and shoppers reject Monsanto’s herbicide tolerant genetically manipulated (GM) canola so emphatically that the company now gives away GM canola seed in a desperate bid for farmers to grow it. In NSW the company promises to limit direct farmer losses to only $10/tonne and in WA it offers a one for three freebie to sweeten its deal.

“Global crop seed and agrichemical giant Monsanto is scrambling to find a market for its genetically manipulated (GM) seed that few will grow and no-one wants to eat,” says Gene Ethics Director, Bob Phelps.

“Farmers know the economics of GM canola do not add up. Many who tried out the GM crop in previous years have decided to grow other more profitable and productive varieties instead. (more…)

(sent to local papers in Eden-Monaro)

If The Greens receive 55% of the primary vote (today), I will be elected to the Upper House, but more importantly, ten talented men and women from diverse backgrounds will be before me. In the unlikely event that this happens, it will mean that the party that forms government will not be able to push through socially or environmentally regressive legislation as easily. Why is it unlikely? Because as is the case at every election, large amounts of time and resources are being spent on spreading Green misinformation by people and parties who do not want to see any more Greens elected.

If people see the sense in planning for a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable future, and think that we actually do need to take action to protect special places, increase the opportunities for biodiversity, set small areas of ocean aside for fish-breeding thus ensuring future fish-stocks, stop workers from being exploited, make sure public education including TAFE is not further eroded, give communities back the right to make good planning decisions, apply the precautionary principle to the adoption of genetically manipulated organisms, properly compensate miners and wood-chippers as we move to renewables, away from native forest-logging and towards existing plantations in order to protect farmland and local industries, ensure water quality, prevent soil erosion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, etc, etc, perhaps having more, rather than fewer Greens in parliaments is a good idea.

Catherine Moore
2010 Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro and No 11 on Greens Legislative Council ticket, March 26 election

The call on the organic industry by West Australian Minister for Agriculture and Food, Terry Redman ‘to bend its rules to permit some GM material, declaring purity to be “unrealistic” ‘ is an abrogation of his responsibilities and an insult to growers and consumers alike (GM strain blows organic status away, The Australian, December 23). Meanwhile Monsanto declares it will protect the contaminating farmer should there be court action.
 
Monsanto and the governments it has duped has claimed from the outset that contamination can be controlled. Those concerned about the potential health and environmental effects of this unproven technology have been trying in vain to have the precautionary principle applied.
 
What will it take for governments to stop being taken in by Monsanto et al and realise that there is a huge market out there for non-GM produce? Choice is a fundamental part of democracy. Genetic Manipulation of our food and fibre ensures that there is none.
 
Catherine Moore

A West Australian organic farmer is in limbo, awaiting state government test results and facing genetic manipulation giant Monsanto’s legal wrath. Steve Marsh’s organic farm has been decertified over GM canola contamination from a neighbour’s
farm.

Monsanto revealed today (see full text of The Australian article below media release) that it would give legal support to the GM grower if Mr Marsh sought redress for his losses through the courts. “For years we called for Farmer Protection laws because GM contamination was inevitable once the Gene Technology regulator issued unrestricted and unconditional commercial licences,” said Gene Ethics Executive Director, Bob Phelps.

“And just this week, the regulator has licensed Monsanto trials of GM canola designed to survive even more repeated sprayings of Roundup herbicide. This will add to the burden of unmanageable herbicide-tolerant weeds that already cost Australian land managers over $4 billion per year. (more…)

Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Catherine Moore wants less talk about rights and more about responsibilities, saying that humans are just one part of the huge web of life, and if we continue on the same path we cannot guarantee our long-term survival.

Commenting on the fishing rights/anti-marine park demonstration held in Narooma today, she said:
“As this election campaign has progressed, the Coalition has demonstrated just how out of touch it is with the large number of Australians who want to see governments playing their role in standing up for and protecting the environment.

“We rely on a healthy planet for our survival, yet the Coalition is hell-bent, through its populist policies, on continuing to treat Australia like a quarry, with profit as the main driver. (more…)

The Greens in Eden-Monaro have marked World Environment Day, June 5, 2010, by saying there is little to celebrate, and humans will need to act soon if there is to be any hope of reversing some of the problems that we have caused.

“The highlight of environmental wins in recent times would have to be the conservation of 107,000ha of River Red Gums in the Riverina, and the creation of the Batemans Marine Park,” says Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro, Catherine Moore.

“It is great to see that many homes in Eden Monaro have had solar panels installed over the last 12 months with the Federal Government subsidy that was stopped before the end of its time but which also involved quite an outlay by some home-owners. This shows the level of community support for action to prevent climate chaos.

“But we need to go a lot further if we are serious about protecting some of the remaining areas of forest and grassland and having real impact on the ever-increasing threat of climate change,” she says. (more…)

Australians remain very uncomfortable about eating genetically manipulated (GM) foods despite government and GM industry claims of growing acceptance. Swinburne University’s fifth National Science and Technology Monitor has found most people well informed about GM but still very mistrustful of the institutions that commercialise GM foods.

“A major target of public mistrust is Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company that owns patents on over 90% of all commercial GM soy, corn, canola and cotton crops that are grown,” says Gene Ethics director Bob Phelps.

“Monsanto’s management and shareholders should be ashamed of ranking absolutely last among the 541 trans-national companies assessed by the annual Geneva-based Covalence reputation index. It is a barometer of how the ethics of big businesses are perceived throughout society. Monsanto consistently fails ethics 101. (more…)