I’m sorry to say that the government of Australia DID NOT vote to protect nature. They did not vote to reverse the policy decision of their regulator, and now allow gene-edited animals, plants, and microorganisms to be introduced on that continent without any government oversight or notification.
This is a catastrophe. This quiet, under the radar vote could become one of the most significant moments of our time, especially if worst-case scenarios start to unfold. We talked about this in a previous news analysis – how bacteria released in one location could render soil infertile, could change weather patterns. We had two examples of that.
We had the experience – the discussion of hornless cattle. How the supposedly safe gene – and perfect gene-edited hornless cattle turned out to have bacteria mixed into every cell. In the gene of every cell, there were antibiotic-resistant genes that could create antibiotic-resistant diseases.
We have so much evidence that gene editing is dangerous and that in fact, it’s most common result is surprising side effects. This is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous by the Australian government.
I don’t want to try and harp on worst case scenarios right now, but it is a terrible precedent because we know that the Trump administration has asked the regulatory agencies in the United States to lighten the regulatory load. It is not very heavy anyway in the United States for gene-edited products, but they could follow in the footsteps of Australia now that there’s a precedent.
We may have a free for all! I recommend that you go to ProtectNatureNow.com and watch the three-minute video. After you watch it, I invite you to participate in the social media campaign. It’s written there for you to include a picture of something that you want to protect and share it with ProtectNatureNow.com and #ProtectNatureNow.
At the bottom of that page, there’s a link to other resources – camp out there, read about the dangers of gene editing, the capacity for it to spread, the dangers of RNAi or double-stranded RNA, these GMO 2.0, which could wreak havoc. You will know more than those who voted for the free release in Australia, and it will be frustrating that these people did not know what you will know. If you go to that website and read it.
We need to fund this campaign. We need to support this campaign so that people around the world – regulators and politicians will realize the folly of allowing a free for all introduction. So we can do this, we can turn it around, but we have to act quick.
Safe eating.