I've lost faith in our government keeping out GE, well considering they never were going to keep it out, so I never had faith in them.

I just don't see a point to it, food seems fine the way it is, why mess with it.

The thing which sways me most is that NZ is a series of islands. It is not yet clear whether the rest of the world is going to be pro-GE or not, but we have an ability to stay GE free in a way many other countries can't. Regardless of what you might think about GE in the lab, it seems really silly to grow GE plants outside. And certainly silly just to grow GE food so that you can spray more Roundup on it so that Monsatano can make more money.

the problem i have with this fight is that people are getting hyped up by greenpeace and the media about GE food and crops, but in the process they're demonizing legitimate medical research.

there are thousands of genetic conditions that affect people all around the world, some of these conditions can be serious, some not so serious, but who are you to decide whether or not little timmy the haemophiliac or little jenny with von willebrands disorder gets a second chance of life?

think about it people, you see the letters GE and you think "cloning, dangerous food, mice with human ears, blah blah blah" you don't think "cures for hereditary cancer, hereditary heart conditions, hereditary mental illness, hereditary diseases"

do not confuse GE food with GE medicine, they are different things entirely ... even greenpeace is making only a light distinction between the two, the only mention of GE for medicine on its website is as follows:

"While scientific progress on molecular biology has a great potential to increase our understanding of nature and provide new medical tools, it should not be used as justification to turn the environment into a giant genetic experiment."

this is fair, but don't turn the tables and hurt genuine research, let us have the chance to have access to those medical tools

think about what you sign, there are more issues surrounding this topic than you probably realise, don't just sit back and believe the propoganda they're feeding you, research both sides of the argument so you can make an informed decision

on that note i'm clarifying my position - i agree that GE crops should be kept in the lab, that we shouldn't be meddling with things we don't yet understand fully and releasing it into the environment, but i am a full advocate of research, so that we may eventually understand the implications surrounding this issue

it's also on that note that i'll stop my rant and mention that extending the moratorium will not affect legitimate research - as stated on the take5 site:

"3 - Extending the GE moratorium by 5 years will not stop NZ scientists developing medicines to improve human health."

so sweet as! go for it, vote - just for christs sake, if you want to have an opinion on this, keep informed and think about WHO you're fighting against, don't chuck medical scientists in the same basket as commercial scumbags looking for ways to make more money

i dont really give a rats bum about GE anyway.

im more concerned about the Marijuana Law Reform Movement,

You can also vote to extend the moratorium by 5 years by texting your name and suburb or town to 8642.

The moratorium means that the Environmental Risk Management Authority cannot accept applications for release of genetically modified organsims into our environment (until this moratorium expires at the end of October). Of course, it would still be at least a few years before any GMO's are on our supermarket shelves etc, but is this really enough time to conduct the proper research required? I'm not necessarily against GM but caution it strongly and I want to know that enough, reliable research has been conducted before these GMO's are released into my country. So plz spend 5 seconds and vote on this!