Call on Minister Green to Lobby on Behalf of Tasmanians
The Tasmanian Greens today noted the current inquiry by the Food Labelling Review Panel into the Labelling of Genetically Engineered (GE) food in Australia, and called on Primary Industries Minister Bryan Green to lobby his federal Labor counterpart to ensure that all food containing GE ingredients is labelled as such so that Tasmanians can make informed choices about the food they are eating.
Greens Primary Industries spokesperson Kim Booth MP said Tasmania’s GE-Free status already recognises consumer unease with GE ingredients, and 90 per cent of Australians want ingredients derived from GE crops to be clearly labelled.
“The Greens are calling on Minister Bryan Green to lobby the federal Labor government to ensure that all food containing GE ingredients is labelled as such, so that Tasmanians can make informed choices about the food they are eating, and can avoid being exposed to GE products if they so choose,” said Mr Booth.
Senator Christine Milne
Thursday 11 November 2010
Truthful labelling a must for farmers, economy and food security
Australians have again called for a truthful method of buying locally produced and processed food in the latest Roy Morgan poll on food labelling, says Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Christine Milne.
“The poll results released this week show 90 percent of Australians are more likely to buy food that is labelled as ‘Made in Australia’.
“At face value this groundswell of support for local food is encouraging, but as our struggling producers know, it is also a bitter pill because our food labelling laws allow for imported goods to be branded as Australian made.
“Current laws stipulate a food product need only have half of its production costs originate in Australia to qualify for the Australian Made brand. These costs include packaging, so it is not uncommon for supermarket shelves to be stocked with overseas grown food packed in Australia and misleadingly labelled.
“This not only dupes the well-intentioned consumer, but also short-changes the local producer who is being consistently undercut by cheap and inferior imports masquerading as Aussie made.
“This is already creating huge problems for Tasmanian farmers and the Australian made brand.
“The Roy Morgan poll clearly indicates that there is a very strong market for home grown and home made food, but if the brand becomes widely known as a disingenuous marketing ploy then it will lose much of its effectiveness.
“Conversely, the poll also indicates just six percent of respondents would actively purchase a Chinese made product if given a choice. Imagine the impact on the ‘Australian Made’ market if seemingly local ingredients are found to have arrived on a boat from China. It’s marketing suicide prevented only by a slight of hand.
“With truthful labelling local growers and producers will benefit from filling the gap usually reserved for imported goods, and they will also experience increased demand.
“This is made all the more pertinent considering Australia’s recent move into becoming a net importer of food. Our trade position has dropped a staggering $6.3 billion in just five years, revealing the urgent need for a fully implemented food security plan.
“Local producers, the economy and future generations are all dependent on truth in labelling. The government must act before the bubble bursts and Australian farmers are forced to leave the land and make overseas food the only option for consumers.
”
The Roy Morgan poll results can be found at: http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2010/4600/
First published: 2010-11-09 03:27 PM
