Biotech Updates

Study Examines Potential Impact of GM Canola on Organic Sectors in Australia

May 11, 2007

The commercialization of GM canola in Australia is likely to have only negligible direct impacts on the organic canola, livestock and honey industries according to a new report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE). The report, entitled “Potential impacts from the introduction of GM canola on organic farming in Australia”, investigates the potential economic impacts of the commercialization of GM canola in Australia on domestic organic agriculture, and looks into the treatment of GMOs in organic certification standards in Australia and in Australia’s main organic trade partners.

Phillip Glyde, Executive Director of ABARE, cautioned that the introduction of GM varieties of other crops that are more extensively grown in Australia as certified organic may have a different impact.

The news release is available at http://www.abareconomics.com/corporate/media/2007_releases/10may_07.html