Also the term "organic", applied by parts of the industry to products produced without the involvement of chemicals, should be changed to "chemical free". "Organic" used in this context is a misnomer as all agricultural products, whether chemical free or not, are organic.

GM food has definitely caused harm to animals in well run feeding trials, and we need independent, long term, peer reviewed human feeding trials to be done in Australia before GM crops are grown here. Consumers want proper testing that is relevant to their health, and labelling that gives them a choice of avoiding GM until these tests are done and they are confident with the product. Promises of better yields and salt and frost tolerant plants have not materialised. Over population, leading to suffering on many levels need not occur.

All things are made from chemicals so 'chemical free' is actually a greater misnomer in my opinion. Be specific and say pesticide free or herbicide free if that is what it is. As for the 'misleading' GE free or biotech free labelling, this is merely stating a fact and facts speak for themselves. GE crops have a negative impact on biodiversity by reducing it as they encourage farmers to only grow the engineered crops. GE plants contaminate other plant species with the engineered gene which we already know is creating superweeds for one. Bt engineered plants have a negative impact on the plant fungi relationships by virtue of the BT gene expressing in all parts of the plant which is a new phenomenon in nature. This affects plant health since they can't get access to the minerals normally supplied by the fungi. Since we, and the animals we rely on for food, eat these plants, our and their wellbeing too will be affected. This is just an example of the reasons why I want to know what is GE food so I can avoid it at all costs. As consumers we have the right to know what a product consists of in order to decide what we buy and eat.

Many years ago I asked Monsanto to produce the results of the long term tests of the effects of GM food on humans - I am still waiting. Maybe Geoff Gore could get them and publish them! Cy

Well if labeling doesn't translate into action at the retail level what are the biotech companies worried about. What the biotech companies want to do is take away our right to know. This food is untested on humans but all research by independent scientists on mice or rats have shown that the food is toxic and has alarming effects. There is increase sterility, depressed immune systems, smaller organs in progeny i.e. brains, testicles, liver, kidney and they die much earlier. No wonder they don't want us to know we are eating it.

Why do supporters of GM crops always throw in the emotional issues of feeding the world or saving the planet with the assumption that GM crops will be able to do this? 13 years after their introduction there are just the two traits available as there were back then. The GM wish list has not eventuated. GM crops do not produce more, cannot combat drought or flood, nor cure blindness or reduce our carbon imprint. What we do know is that they contaminate, come with worrying health issues and are rejected globally by informed consumers and governments. No wonder Big Biotech don't want them labelled!

The biotech industry is the *only* industry in the world that wants to hide its products from everyone. Why? If GM foods could do all the things that proponents say they do, then I would have thought that they'd be campaigning on having big bold labels saying "Congratulations! You've just bought new 'brekky-bits' containing new improved genetically modified herbicide-tolerant corn flakes. Thanks for helping feed the world, reduce environmental pollution and helping solve climate change". Then I'd be expecting biotech exec to get the next plane to Stockholm to pick up their Nobel peace prizes. But alas, the industry spends untold billions on making sure you and I do not know that you're eating their products. This beggars belief as to why. Our experiences with thalidomide and tobacco may provide us with the answer. It is a fundamental right to know what you're eating so we must demand full disclosure labelling on all GM products now.

Re: GM labelling, here are the facts:

Australia implemented a food labelling regime for GM foods in 2001 to allow consumers to identify foods with GM ingredients and facilitate choice. Generally, under this regime, if genetic material or protein from genetic modification is present in the final food it must be identified in the ingredient panel of the label. There are several categories under which a food or ingredient does not require a GM label. These are:

• Highly refined products

• Additives and processing aids which do not contain novel DNA or protein

• Foods containing GM flavouring of less than 0.1 per cent of the final food

• GM foods intended for immediate consumption, such as restaurant and take-away foods and catered meals.

Also, there is an exemption for the unintended presence of a GM food, where it can be demonstrated to be unintentional and its presence is not more than one per cent per ingredient. All GM ingredients that are allowed to be sold in Australia are safe. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code requires that all GM ingredients that are consumed in Australia undergo a thorough scientific safety assessment before they are allowed to be sold. Any changes to the current GM labelling provisions would not enhance choice and could potentially reduce consumer options. Also, changes would place unrealistic expectations on agricultural industries, and would impose a financial cost on industry which would be reflected in the cost of food to consumers. Finally, it should be noted that nowhere in the world is GM labelling required on end products, such as meat, eggs, and milk, derived from animals fed GM feed.

- Honi McNaughton, Public Affairs Manager, Monsanto Australia Ltd

Honi Mcnaughton is desperate to maintain the status quo on labeling because she knows full well that most informed people don't want GM products in their diets in any shape or form. The recent French survey said it all! Over 75 per cent of French people do not want GM food on their plates, and neither do I! One is entitled to be suspicious of those who refuse to have their products clearly labeled without obfuscation such as we hear from Monsanto.

For Cy, who asks about GM harming humans, if you consider killing to be harmful I suggest you check out the "Tryptophan Disaster Trial". This will confirm the court's opinion that GM "with little doubt caused this disaster which killed thirtyseven people and disabled fifteen hundred more".