Auckland Council joins the luddites

NewstalkZB reports:

Opponents of genetic engineering believe Auckland Council’s decision to become officially GE-free will be good for business.

Auckland councillors have agreed to ban the general release of genetically modified organisms under the Unitary Plan, a 30-year combined regional and district plan.

The decision comes a year after Hastings District Council agreed to ban the outdoor use of genetically modified organisms in its district plan.

Soil and Health Association chairwoman Marion Thomson said all councils should be taking a long-term precautionary approach to any untested GM technologies.

Luddites win again.

GM technologies have been in use for over 30 years without a single adverse incident. There are a group of people who have a near-religious aversion to “interfering” with nature and they use the precautionary principle as a ruse. The truth is they will never ever support GM regardless of the benefits or science.

We had a Royal Commission into GM and it weighed up the evidence and said it should be allowed under strict conditions. Local authorities should not be able to over-ride that decision and impose the views of Councillors on every farmer in the district.