There needs to be a more open debate about the place for Genetically Modified (GM) or Genetically Engineered (GE) food. An Organic Farmer in Western Australia, Steve Marsh has had GM Canola blown onto his property from a neighbouring farm and is now contaminated. His organic certification has been decertified, putting his livelihood and harvest in limbo. With considerable community support , Steve is taking his neighbor to court for loss of income so GM is becoming very divisive within rural communities. In Canada Farmer Percy Schmeiser of Saskatchewan has taken on Monsanto and won as reported in Mercola.com story David vs. Monsanto-The Story of How a Lone Farmer Prevailed Against One of the Most Powerful Companies on the Planet
The Australian Nation Broadcaster the ABC is providing a commentary on the subject with programs like Catalyst . Unfortunately the program confused GM with selective breeding. In response to this glaring error , Greenpeace says:
The Catalyst host Dr Maryanne Demasi introduced last night's program saying that:
"There seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to genetic modification. A little known fact is that virtually everything we eat has been genetically modified in some way. Even organic food, so what's all the fuss about? Well apparently it is all in the definition."
Dr Maryanne Demasi is right; it is all in the definition.
Genetic modification (GM) is exactly the same as genetic engineering (GE). They are different terms for the same process. Genetic modification is when genes from organisms that would never naturally breed together are spliced together to create an entirely new organism. This is what makes GM inherently unsafe to eat, and unsafe in the environment. Genetic modification is completely different from selective breeding. Catalyst got the scientific definition of genetic modification (GM) totally wrong. And it's not just our opinion. A CSIRO fact sheet which is linked to from the Catalyst website says that genetic modification and genetic engineering are the same thing.
The European Union also clearly explains that genetically modified organism (GMO) means "an organism in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination." As one of Australia 's leading commentators on science, Catalyst has a responsibility to get it right.
It is all about how information is presented in the media, another ABC program the Gruen Planet on
28 September 2011 demonstrates how the PR people of multination corporations manipulate politicians and the public to push their products . 
In the
past such companies have had it all their own way because they have effectively controlled how the masses think through advertising in the old
commercial media but the internet, the product of the best of American enterprise and technology, is changing that. The fact that you are reading
this demonstrates how the internet is providing information and allowing you to make up your own mind .
Unfortunatly disreputable organisations are trying to get back this loss of control by the use of
Astro Turfing , the practice of trying to create the appearance of a grass roots movement, ie artificial turf.
People like Clive Blazey who created Diggers Club are now having an increasing influence over people like you with a capacity to think about the future, while you are currently in the minority, these thinkers will influence others over time, in the same way as the demand for organic food is growing "organically" being driven by reason not by advertising.
There are many claims being made about the potential for GM technology, but many of these claims only address problems created by modern agricultural practices, things like pesticide resistance. Better farming practices based on principals of reactivating the soil microbiology and increasing soil organic matter can achieve the same thing as explained by former CSIRO Scientist Dr Maarten Stapper . It is a mystery why some farmers choose to pay a fortune for seen from multinational companies when they can achieve more sustainable environmental and economic results by changing their agricultural practices. Why has this happened?
You can have your say by emailing the Minister for Health and the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing http://protectourfood.good.do/safe-beyond-reasonable-doubt