The debate over genetically modified foods - hotting up in Victoria ahead of the State Government's review of the ban on GM canola crops - is as complicated as it is important.

Important, because once the door is opened to genetically modified crops, it may not be possible to close it again: once GM organisms are released into the environment, their control cannot be guaranteed. Whether you think that's a good or bad thing depends on your point of view.

The pro-GM lobby, of which Premier John Brumby is the most prominent member here, heralds GM agriculture as a scientific breakthrough. It claims GM yields higher crops that may be drought or virus-resistant and use fewer herbicides and pesticides.

The anti-GM lobby says none of these claims is accurate. Citing widespread consumer opposition to the introduction of GM, it is concerned about the effect of GM foods on health and the environment, says GM crops overseas have not fulfilled their promise and that Australia's GM-free status gives it a competitive advantage over GM-growing countries in international markets. It is also concerned about the politics of GM: the companies at the forefront of GM technology are agrochemical businesses that own the rights to the seeds and therefore exercise control over farmers who buy the seeds.

Organic farming is by definition GM-free. And if you've shopped at one of the larger markets or organic food stores in the past month, you've probably seen the postcards of various well-known chefs, scientists and farmers asking us to "say NO to GM foods and crops now!" An initiative of Victorian-based company Gene Ethics, the card campaign has gathered thousands of signatures to protest against the State Government's stance on GM, says Gene Ethics executive director Bob Phelps.

Last month, Tourism Victoria's 16-member Food and Wine Tourism Council wrote to State Tourism Minister Tim Holding, opposing lifting the ban on GM crops.

Council chairman Michael Matthews said the council could see negatives for Victorian tourism if the moratorium was lifted.

"Victoria is a big producer of organic foods and is proud of its clean and green image," Mr Matthews said. "We see GM foods as being incompatible with that and of having the potential to harm our international reputation."

There were also inconsistencies, he said, in the Government's stance on GM and its support of international eco-gastronomy organisation Slow Food, which campaigns against GM.

You may already be eating genetically modified foods. Since 1999, Food Standards Australia New Zealand has approved 33 GM foods (from GM crops such as corn and rice) for import, mainly from the US. That number is set to rise early next year, following the completion of an FSANZ safety assessment of a Monsanto-owned herbicide-tolerant soybean.

Source:The Age