Alongside technical and Māori advisory committees should be one for the primary sector.
The Gene Technology Bill needs a primary sector voice both in its early development stage and ongoing in its regulatory system once the legislation is bedded in, DairyNZ says.
That voice should be an advisory committee to sit alongside the proposed technical and Māori advisory committees, DairyNZ senior policy advisor Laura Kearney and senior research manager Sarah Gard said in a webinar.
Those committees will sit under the gene technology regulator that is to be established under the Environmental Protection Authority. The regulator is to be an independent decision maker that decides on the level of risk for the technologies.
“Having primary sector expertise from the outset is going to be vital in making sure that this new framework has those protections in place,” Kearney said.
The legislation is designed to modernise New Zealand’s laws around genetic technologies.
In a broad sense, DairyNZ welcomes the Bill and supports its intent as the science has advanced significantly over the past 25 years.
However, there are gaps in it that needs to be addressed to help protect the primary sector, Kearney said.
Another risk is that the legislation does not provide ways for co-existence between GE and non-GE entities including species, farmland and in the supply chain.
Gard said the Bill’s definition of the environment in relation to risks that GE poses does not include domesticated animals or farming.
Broadening that definition will allow a pathway within the legislation to ensure coexistence is considered in the process.
“What is most important to us is that farmers have choice in that farm-to-farm coexistence.”
If, for example one farmer used GE technology while the neighbouring farmer chose not to, there needs to be a way for those two farms to be able to coexist.
“We need to be able to do that in a way that our decisions are not impacting on each other,” Gard said.
The proposed legislation does not give assurances that coexistence can occur at a farm and supply chain level.
DairyNZ chief science adviser Bruce Thorrold said much of the farmer feedback they received last year centred on concerns about coexistence.
“There was a wide range of views, a significant majority in support of the change and a significant minority who were deeply concerned.”
It was clear that a solution could not be found by averaging those two opinions. There has to be a solution for farmers that want to use GE and those who do not, he said.
Kearney said there are also concerns about the risk it poses to trade and market access.
“The Bill is focused on the risks to human health and safety and the environment. It currently does not consider trade and market access risks.”
These risks need to be more appropriately considered and have proper safeguards in place.
“It’s absolutely key that we don’t get out ahead of key trading partners and that we have processes and place and provisions for assessing these risks and managing them.”
The other two areas of concern identified by DairyNZ are transparency and provisions for Māori. DairyNZ would like to see the Māori advisory committee’s scope expanded.
The legislation is in the middle of its submission stage with a deadline of February 17.
The submissions are going to Parliament’s Health Select Committee. Kearney urged people writing submissions to ensure they understand a farmer’s perspective on it.
DairyNZ is working with other sector groups. It will be submitting on the legislation and seeking an oral submission.
The government is aiming to have the legislation passed and the new regulator in place by the end of 2025.
You can now read the most important #news on #eDairyNews #Whatsapp channels!!!
🇺🇸 eDairy News INGLÊS: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaKsjzGDTkJyIN6hcP1K
