The Aussies already label genetically modified food; some want it off the shelves altogether!
Out today.

By Vikki Campion

June 26, 2009 12:00am

FRANKENSTEIN food could be outlawed across the state if a grass-roots campaign to push it out of town gains momentum.

One of the first councils to consider pulling it from shelves is about to vote on a damning report that calls for genetically modified (GM) crops to be scrapped in the area and for stringent new labelling laws on packaging.

Scientists maintain genetically modified foods are safe. But the Looking After People GM Food Production report, which is before Blue Mountains City Council, recommends banning crops and lobbying the Federal Government to bring in mandatory labelling. If the report is adopted formally, the Blue Mountains would become a GM-free zone.

Under the changes, the council's own kiosks would be cleared of GM foods which, according to True Food Australia, would mean no more Coca-Cola, Ritz, Kraft, Masterfood, Trident, Uncle Toby's or Sara Lee brands.

"This report recommends that the council take a precautionary approach towards GM food supply in the council's food services until the long-term benefits and risks associated with it are better understood by amending food service contracts to specify that the council favours GM-free food supply," it says.

Foodies are hailing the report as a catalyst for national change over where GM crops are grown and labelling on GM-containing products. Only GM soy, corn, canola and cotton products are sold commercially - processors are required by Food Standards Australia to document if their foods are GM but not to label it on the packet, the report adds.

Esther Barrale, who runs a grocery at Glenbrook at the foot of the Blue Mountains with husband Ross, said customers sought fresh food over GM so they sourced from local growers.

Glenbrook resident Natasha Clark, mum of Harrison, 3, said she steered away from processed foods.

"We never eat from boxes or packets and make all our sauces from scratch," she said.

Blue Mountains Food Co-op spokesman Peter Brownlee said the ground-breaking report could trigger "urban-affairs type activism".

"People are saying 'Write to the council and congratulate them for writing the report and encourage them to approve it'," he said.

"It's a watershed for change. It is a very reasonable step for proper labelling of what is in your food. To say we don't want GM production in the Blue Mountains may be doable."

CSIRO plant industry division deputy chief and leading researcher Dr TJ Higgins said farmers had been breeding and modifying crops for hundreds of years. He said there was no need to be scared of GM food, adding it was strictly supervised.

"Genetic modification is a recent technique," he said. "That's why in some cases people can be sceptical."