Protests seen as threat to GE research

Investors will stay away and scientists will do their research overseas if anti-genetic engineering protesters continue to attack research crops, says a pro-GE lobby group.

Protesters last week destroyed a crop of genetically modified potatoes at Lincoln, preventing Christchurch scientist Dr Margy Gilpin from presenting the results of her research to a prestigious conference in the United States later this year.

Dr Gilpin will now be able to talk to the International Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology conference in Florida only about her preliminary results.

Fellow researcher Tony Connor also lost hundreds of genetically modified plants in the raid.

The executive director of the pro-GE group Lifesciences Network, Francis Wevers, said attacks would not only deter investors in New Zealand science and innovation, but cause New Zealand scientists to travel overseas because they felt threatened.

"The point is that none of this work is being done without having been approved by the appropriate statutory authorities in the first place, who have assessed it as being safe to conduct," he said.

Groups who for their own "fundamentalist reasons" opposed the work were setting out to destroy science and knowledge, he said.

While there were heavy penalties available if saboteurs were caught, the heaviest penalty was felt in the science community.

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs condemned the attack as senseless vandalism, but Green MP Nandor Tanczos warned of more attacks if the research continued.

He said direct action was justified where people's legitimate grievances were not being addressed by the Government.

Mr Wevers said Mr Tanczos' comments were no surprise, given that he was a former member of the Wild Greens, whose members destroyed another potato crop at Lincoln in March 1999.

- NZPA

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