Dairy giant closes door on mothers' anti-GM group

By SIMON COLLINS

Mothers protesting against genetic modification were asked to leave dairy giant Fonterra's headquarters near Auckland Airport yesterday.

About 30 women and children from Mothers Against Genetic Engineering (Madge) demanded to know why Fonterra's biotechnology subsidiary, ViaLactia, paid Australia's Genetic Technologies last month for the rights to use patented human DNA.

Fonterra's predecessor, the Dairy Board, put $150 million into ViaLactia to identify genes that may improve grass, milk and animal health.

ViaLactia chief executive Dr Colin South said the information from human DNA was needed to provide "markers" to look for genes of interest.

"It's got nothing to do with genetic engineering," he said. "The patent gives us the right to use sequence information. It's not even physical DNA, it's information that the sequence tells us."

He said ViaLactia was already using the information, but paid Genetic Technologies for the right to keep using it after the Melbourne company asserted patent rights which it took out in the 1980s over uncoded, or "junk", parts of DNA.

"Coded" parts of DNA, containing genes which determine the character of each organism, are mostly in the public domain and not patented.

Meanwhile, the Herald took one call yesterday from a person offended by a Madge billboard portraying a naked woman genetically engineered to have four breasts and produce more milk.

Evelyn Rhodes of Mt Wellington saw the billboard at the Mt Wellington motorway interchange when she drove past with her 9-year-old son.

"It's really distasteful," she said.

The Madge image, at five Auckland and two Wellington sites, is a prelude to a march against GM on October 11.