WA’s New Leaders to Rescind GM Moratorium

The newly elected leaders of Western Australia have promised to repeal a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops that has taken a heavy toll on agricultural research and development (R&D), Science magazine reports. In 2004, the governing Labor Party in Western Australia (WA) banned growing GM crops in the state, particularly GM canola. This is after the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand approved GM canola as safe for the environment and for consumption.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) estimated that WA would forfeit AUS$180 million in revenue over the next 10 years if it continues to outlaw herbicide-resistant GM canola, which produces higher yields at lower costs.

 "It’s an exciting time for agricultural R&D," says Mike Jones, director of the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Center in Perth. With the moratorium lifted, scientists can begin GM crop field trials.

Read the complete story at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5896/1629