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Cultivation
In 2002, after six years of field trials, two companies, Bayer CropScience and Monsanto Australia, applied to Australia’s Gene Technology Regulator, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR), for commercial release approvals for the cultivation of GM canola for use in the Australian cropping system.
The OGTR is responsible for investigating any GM product in relation to the risks it may pose to human health and the environment. Risks considered for GM canola included weediness, gene transfer, toxicity, allergenicity and herbicide resistance.
Following more than 12 months of extensive evaluation and public consultation, the Regulator concluded that the two genetically modified canola types were “as safe to human health, safety and the environment as non-GM canola” and announced the commercial approval of both canola types in 2003.
Bayer CropScience’s InVigor® hybrid canola is tolerant to the herbicide glufosinate. The Regulator’s full determination on the Bayer licence can be found on the OGTR website.
Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® GM canola variety can tolerate applications of the glyphosate herbicide, and the documentation relating to the Regulator’s decision about this product can also be found on the OGTR website.
Food use
In addition to the OGTR approval for cultivation, the use of foods derived from the GM canola types has also been approved by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Australia’s food regulator. The safety assessment information for Bayer CropScience’s GM canola is available here. The report for Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® GM canola can be found here.
Herbicide use
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) also registered the herbicides Roundup Ready® for use on the Roundup Ready® GM canola and Liberty to be used on the InVigor® GM canola variety. The issue of herbicide resistance management was considered in the registration of these products. The APVMA applied registration conditions to provide for the responsible use of the herbicides and to minimise the potential for the development of herbicide resistance. For more information about the APVMA registration process click here.
Market considerations
As noted, the OGTR regulates for human health, safety and the environment, but not for marketing issues. There is, however, provision within Australia’s gene technology legislation for state and territory governments to create zones free of GM crops for the “purpose of preserving the identity of one or both of GM or non-GM crops for marketing purposes.”
Since the OGTR approved the GM canola types, State and Territory Governments have examined the introduction of GM canola and other GM crops, based on marketing grounds. The following is a summary of each State Government’s current position:
- NSW - In 2007, after a review, the NSW Government announced that GM canola could now be grown in the state. NSW has grown GM cotton since 1996.
- Victoria - The Victorian Government conducted a review in 2007 and announced that GM canola could go ahead in the 2008 season and beyond.
- South Australia - The South Australian Government announced a review of its GM Crop Management Act legislation in 2007. Unlike the governments of NSW and Victoria, it decided to maintain a ban on the cultivation of GM food crops and the Genetically Modified Crops Management Regulations 2008 came into effect in April 2008.
- Western Australia - In 2004 the government introduced a ban on commercial cultivation of all GM crops in WA through the Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Act 2003. While this ban is still in place, it allows for exemptions and two have been issued. The first exemption, for GM cotton in the Ord irrigation region, was issued in 2008. More recently, following a successful trial of GM canola in 2009, the WA Parliament voted on 10 March 2010 to allow GM canola in the State from this year onwards. This decision was based on a report of the trials compiled by the Department of Agriculture and Food.
- Tasmania - In 2008, a Joint Select Committee released a report, and following this, the Tasmanian Government announced that all GM crops would be banned from cultivation in the State. The Tasmanian Government’s policy extends to 2014.
ABARE has recently released a report investigating evidence of price premiums for non-GM grains in world markets. According to the report, when GM grains are perfectly substitutable in consumption with non-GM grains, there are no price premiums for the non-GM grains - canola and cottonseed appear to be such grains. This may be because they are crushed to produce oil and meal, and in most countries mandatory labelling is not required with the oil, because there is no detectable DNA. The report states, “there is little evidence in the major import markets for canola of a willingness to pay extra for Australia’s non-GM canola compared with Canada’s GM canola”.
The report also states that GM canola varieties are estimated to have made up nine per cent of total canola planting in New South Wales and Victoria in 2009, but only 0.1 per cent in Western Australia. In New South Wales, there were two canola segregations in 2009: non-GM canola (less than 0.9 per cent unintended presence of GM canola) and commingled GM and non-GM canola. In Western Australia, GM canola is kept separate from conventional canola. Cash prices on offer for GM and non-GM canola by the main grain marketers in Australia were monitored between November and December 2009 in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. The premiums for non-GM canola over this period ranged from zero to three per cent. ABARE states that it is too early to conclude whether these price premiums will persist into the future.
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