SUBJECT: SUBMISSION ON GMO TO DPIPWE FROM:

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1 SUBJECT: SUBMISSION ON GMO TO DPIPWE FROM: Graeme and Pip Roberts DATE: 08 OCTOBER 2103 TO: The Project Team - Review of the moratorium on GMOs in Tasmania (2013) Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment GPO Box 44, Hobart TAS 7001 by to: gmo.review@dpipwe.tas.gov.au Dear Project Team, We have a small farm at Bagdad where everything we grow is managed in a biodynamic and organic manner with our over-riding philosophy being that of the holistic farm where everything is interconnected and the focus is on biodiversity and continuously building fertility in the soil through increasing the beneficial activities of the soil micro-organisms. Our main commercial crop is our vineyard and we are continuing to develop our property with a small orchard, berries, olives and vegetables for value adding products. Address on the Terms of Reference. The main part of our submission refers to Point 3 the marketing potential for Tasmania by remaining GM free. Suffice to say in relation to the other reference points there are numerous scientific works that refute or seriously question the claimed benefits of GMO s put forward by the large, global chemical companies that want to control the world food supplies. Reference Point 3: The potential market advantages and disadvantages of allowing or not allowing the use of gene technology in Tasmanian primary industries, including food and non-food sectors. Tasmanian Governments and the Tasmanian Food Industry have for quite a number of years created the mantra of the clean, green image for everything grown and processed in the beautiful island state of Tasmania. It is true that the island of Tasmania is blessed with its location, climate, good soils and available water to be able to grow some of the very best cool climate, temperate produce of outstanding quality that is the envy of most countries in the world. The number of world famous chefs and wine writers are continuously referring to the Tasmanian produce in glowing terms.

2 The long, cooler and slower ripening period for all our vegetables, fruit, berries, honey, nuts, grain, olives, wines, meat and milk create produce that has an intensity of flavour and keeping qualities that are highly desirable and highly sought after around the world. Tasmania has a wonderful reputation for its beef and lamb meat quality, aided by being Hormone-free. Our milk, cheese and other dairy products are recognised as being of the very best quality. Our salmon farmers are steadily building a world reputation for their produce and all Tasmania s sea fish, crayfish and shellfish that grow in our colder waters are eagerly sought after both in mainland Australia and around the world. Our apples, cherries, small fruit and the emerging olive oil industry are all highly sought after for their quality and intense flavours. These attributes and the clean, green image have enabled Tasmanian produce to gain entry into the highly lucrative, specialist markets of Asia and Europe. The quality of our table wines benefit enormously from the long, cool ripening period and won rave reviews from world leading wine writers at the recent International Cool Climate Wine Symposium while demand for Tasmanian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes has outstripped supply for making Australia s best sparkling wines. What is emphasized here is that Tasmania with its topography, small land mass, small population and wonderful growing climate and soils needs to rethink the way it sells its produce. To really take advantage of all these positives we need to shift from commodity based markets sold with no reference to the Tasmanian Brand to rebranded niche markets in Asia and Europe and anywhere else where a guarantee of clean, green, GMO-free quality is sought after. ALL THESE ADVANTAGES AND FUTURE BENEFITS WILL BE LOST FOREVER IF WE ALLOW GMO s INTO TASMANIA!!! Result 1: Tasmania immediately loses its right to promote itself as the Clean, Green State and can no longer market any of its produce as Clean and Green. Result 2: Tasmania becomes a farming backwater with no ability to sell our once highly sought after produce on the international markets, loss of current lucrative markets in Asia and Europe and our small volume farmers finding themselves having to compete with the huge growers on mainland Australia in the Americas (north and south) and in some of the emerging Asian countries.

3 Result 3: Our wonderful, conventionally grown food and our sought after organic food will get lost amongst the thousands of tonnes of food supplied by those major countries that have gone down the GM path because we will no longer be able to market our significant point of difference Tasmania being GMO-free... The case for no GMO s in Tasmania is a very simple one JUST DO THE SUMS! The question now is: HOW CAN WE TRULY CAPITALISE ON TASMANIA AS THE GMO FREE STATE? Here are some ideas to develop, many of which can be put into practice straight away.. Produce a distinctive Tasmanian clean, green and GMO-free label Brand or rebadge all our produce. Market this wherever and whenever Tasmania is mentioned Global advertising on You Tube, facebook, Twitter, etc. Matthew Evans Foodie TV shows.all Tas markets, all Tas festivals, advertise for MONA, next Tall Ships event, wooden boat festival, every carnival, conference, symposium, etc Certify main farm bodies to administer their own Tas GMO-free labels, etc. For Example: Tas clean, green beef Certified GMO-free, hormone-free ; Tas clean, green milk / cheese/ baby products Certified GMO-free, hormone-free, organic, etc Wine from Tasmania s clean, green vineyards Certified GMO-free; organic biodynamic Tasmania s cherries certified GMO-free Existing certification bodies such as those in Organics Tasmania can help with a simple format for a Certification process and labelling.

4 Establish a Tasmanian marketing focus on our clean, green, GMO-free food:- Ideas to develop: Brand Tasmania, Tourism Tasmania, farmers and the food industry, Politicians at all levels, etc - all work together >>>> Tasmania GMO-free Get together a few top advertising / marketing / business people - with a proven record of promoting and selling in niche overseas markets Be guided by the New Zealanders in the way they promote themselves it s Tasmania Vs the World. Forget about selling to Mainland Australia / elsewhere in bulk find new markets Asian countries, Europe, Japan, South Korea, China Don t do it for a year do it all the time Once up and running - encourage all our farmers to move towards organic farming as is happening in South Korea. Advertise on Hawthorn footy jumpers.. use the world s best chefs to promote.. all tourism literature,..tt Line (only use Tas food & wine), etc. etc * This approach could all be done at a fairly small cost. * Much of the marketing / advertising can start today. Involve everyone in Tasmania as ambassadors in promoting the new mantra of : Tasmania Clean, Green, GMO-free

5 CONCLUSION For the long term future of all Tasmanians we ask the Government of Tasmania to totally ban all GMOs in Tasmania. Yours sincerely, Graeme and Pip Roberts Bagdad Hills Vineyard