The fatal GM storm

Ian and Jodi James have been farming near the small WA town of Cunderdin for over 15 years. They’re proud to grow conventional canola that's not genetically modified. But on 3 November, a violent storm washed GM canola from a neighbours’ paddock across their farm.

Ian and Jodi suspected they would have GM canola seeds on their farm, so Greenpeace provided Ian and Jodi with free GM canola test kits.

Over two days of testing, they found numerous GM canola seeds up to twenty metres into their crop. Ian and Jodi were devastated. They have lost their crop, and now face the expensive task of trying to get rid of GM canola from their land. They might even lose their premium for GM-free canola in the future.

Ian and Jodi have lost their right to grow safe GM-free canola. Why should the James’ have to pay for the costs of GM canola contamination, when they didn’t want to grow it?

Greenpeace is urging the Western Australian Government to protect farmers like Ian and Jodi from the costs of GM contamination by introducing Farmers Protection Legislation.
Read article