The Guardian 13 December, 2006
Activists blockade shipment of GE canola
Environmental activists and pure food activists blockaded a shipment of genetically engineered (GE) canola seeds being brought into Australia earlier this month. The action was aimed the seeds from being crushed and used as oil in Australian food.
It is believed to be the first ever GE canola to enter Australia. The shipment is to be sold and is destined to end up in products such as margarine, or animal feed for the poultry and dairy industries.
However, if the canola is imported as seed then there is a very real threat that it will escape and contaminate our currently GE-free canola supplies and crops.
International grains trader Cargill discreetly imported the shipment of Canadian GE canola into Newcastle on Sunday, December 3. It used the pretence that there is a shortage there due to the ongoing drought. In reality, there is ample domestic supply to meet demand — it just has to be brought over from WA.
To stop the shipment, activists chained themselves to vehicles, blocking the gates that lead to the dock where the GE shipment was being unloaded and declared the area a "biohazard" zone.
Louise Sales, a Greenpeace GE campaigner, said: "We are taking action to prevent GE canola from sneaking unlabelled and unwanted into the food chain. Recent polls show that Australian consumers have made it quite clear they do not want GE in their food."
Four of Australia’s main food companies using canola oil (Goodman Fielder, Unilever, Woolworths and McDonald’s) say they have not bought any of the shipment. Goodman Fielder and Unilever state that they have listened to Australian consumers and rejected the GE canola.
Greenpeace is calling on Australian consumers to urge other major canola users, like Coles, Murray Goulburn and Inghams, to also refuse the imported GE product.