June 12, 2023
Media Release: GM is a Tiriti o Waitangi issue
GM is a Tiriti o Waitangi issue
Genetic modification is a Tiriti o Waitangi issue, and no political party has the autonomy to make determinations about it without the free prior informed consent of Te Ao Māori, says Te Waka Kai Ora (National Māori Organics Authority).
Te Waka Kai Ora joined the WAI262 claim in 2007 with a particular opposition to GMOs.
“GMOs are not permitted in a Hua Parakore (Māori organic system)” said Dr Jessica Hutchings, Te Waka Kai Ora spokesperson. “They are an incursion or a hāra on the mauri, mana and whakapapa of a lifeform.”
“They are a form of biopiracy, a second wave of colonisation over lifeforms, concentrating power and wealth within the hands of a few that represent the interests of corporates and capitalist patriarchy.”
[ENDS]