Farmers sues neighbour over GM contamination

Jane Norman

Updated July 28, 2011 15:26:14

A Western Australian farmer is launching legal action against his neighbour for allegedly contaminating his organic property with genetically modified (GM) crops.

Steve Marsh was stripped of his organic certification in December when a neighbour's GM canola blew onto his property in Kojonup in the south-west.

Mr Marsh is now suing his neighbour for loss of income, because he can no longer sell his produce at a premium.

His lawyer, Mark Walter, will issue a writ in the WA Supreme Court today claiming Mr Marsh's neighbour was negligent.

He says it is a landmark case that will be watched closely by farmers across the country.

"It's an opportunity to provide all farmers with clarity as to how the law will deal with these circumstances," Mr Walter said.

"I think it's going to be very important because there are both conventional and unconventional farmers who are concerned as a result of the introduction of GM and how that may affect their farming practises and how they protect themselves from that form of contamination.

"It's likely to be an increasingly important issue because the prospect for further losses or unwanted contamination will rise."

GM canola has been grown in WA, Victoria and New South Wales since 2008.

Topics: genetically-modified-food, law-crime-and-justice, rural, genetics, science-and-technology, genetically-modified-organisms, kojonup-6395, australia, wa

First posted July 28, 2011 09:12:54

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-28/farmers-sues-neighbour-over-gm-contamination/2813046

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