Regarding Hastings District Council's ruling to stay GMO-free, I fully agree with their stance, for reasons which have already been widely circulated - a no-brainer, really.
I find it really hard to understand Federated Farmers' decision to challenge this in court, and together with their support of the TPPA and the RWSS, it has now become crystal clear that they have lost their moral compass, and are quite prepared to sell New Zealand Inc down the river, economically and environmentally, in favour of their members' financial gain, regardless of the irreversible economic harm it will cause long-term.
Let's not be ignorant of the facts - the TPPA is, in reality, the back door by which this National Government and Federated Farmers will allow and encourage GMO foods to enter and be grown in NZ. In this guise, the TPPA is the nuclear-armed ship of New Zealand agriculture.
A huge number of Kiwis will remember the international fracas caused by our refusing entry to US nuclear-armed or powered ships - this has cost NZ billions in trade restrictions since, but there will be very few who will argue that this cost wasn't worth us staying nuclear-free.
In many ways this enhanced our clean, green image to the world, which would have compensated for our trade losses to some degree.
