Keep GE moratorium says leading ecologist

The New Zealand Government would be "foolhardy in the extreme" if it allowed genetically engineered crops to be grown here, says leading British ecologist David Bellamy.

Professor Bellamy called on the Government to extend for five years the moratorium on GM field trials, due to be lifted in October.

Delegates at the Local Government New Zealand conference in Queenstown applauded yesterday as Professor Bellamy told them he "begged" the Government to give scientists time to find out if GM organisms were safe.

Not enough was known about the effects of GM crops on both humans and the environment.

The Government would be "foolhardy in the extreme" and risked "trashing" 3.6 billion years of evolution by introducing GM organisms too soon.

Professor Bellamy is a botany, ecology and environment consultant and was a popular figure on BBC television science and nature programmes in the 1980s.

He said New Zealand had nothing to lose by being cautious about GM crops.

The country would not be left behind, because companies could use GM technology if it was eventually approved.

But if things went wrong with GM technology around the world, New Zealand could have a serious advantage if it was GM-free, he said.

Professor Bellamy said he had not spoken to anyone in the Government directly.

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs' spokesman, Trevor Henry, said the moratorium could not be extended.

If the Government wanted to prevent GM crops being grown, it would have to pass legislation and there were no plans to do so.

- NZPA