June 13, 2023
GMO easing would spark Māori opposition
The Māori organic growers roopu says National has no mandate to allow genetically modified organisms.
Party leader Chris Luxon is promising a National Government would lift the ban on GMOs in New Zealand, as he says there is only economic upside to allowing more genetic engineering.
Te Waka Kai Ora spokesperson Jessica Hutching says that would require a conversation with their treaty partners, because of the way GMOs can affect every aspect of the environment including the soil microbiome.
“Maori went to the Royal Commission (on genetically modified organisms) in 2000 – FOMA, Maori Council, Maori Congress, Wai 262 claimants, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, Muaupoko – who all strongly opposed GMOs. So this is not a new debate for Maori. We clearly laid out 23 years ago, as we always do, that these types of discussions need to happen within treaty frameworks and within treaty partnerships,” she says.
Dr Hutching says as well as the scientific arguments against genetic modificaiton, the technology can also concentrate wealth and power into the hands of a few large corporates.