NonGMFarmer, If Monsanto is not going to sue farmers in Australia if they accidently grow GM canola, why are you and others making such a song and dance about the patent on the plant? Why make such a song and dance about Percy Schmeiser if his experience is totally irrelevant?

So Percy didn't "steal" the seed, because he took it to make a point. Isn't this a bit like stealing from a store to demonstrate how lax their security is? If Schymeiser was trying to make a point, why did he first claim that his crop was contaminated by pollen, when he knew this was not true?

Canada does not use Atrazine-tolerant canola, because they have better tools available. Canada has green foxtail, wild oats and other weeds that can be difficult to control. I have seen on the WAHRI website that more than 74% of wild radish in Western Australia are developing resistant to atrazine. What are your farmers going to do now?

Once again you missed the point Agronomist. If there is no risk management, farmers will be expected to pay the "user fee" from our grain payments if contamination is found. How much contamination will trigger it? Will 0.5% contamination cause a 100% deduction of the user fee? If we object to this fee being deducted from our payments, we will need to sue Monsanto to try to recover these fees. If this is permitted, Monsanto wins because they have a blank cheque from the farming sector as anywhere their contamination spreads becomes profitable for Monsanto and there is no limit to how much they can charge.
We are certainly not singing or dancing about Percy Schmeiser. It is a very serious issue that uncontrollable living plants can now be patented and Percy's case exposes just how serious these companies are taking their patents.
The experience was not irrevelant as Monsanto has now changed the rules for Australia so that they don't have to take farmers to court for the money. Farmers must somehow come up with the massive costs needed to take a multinational like Monsanto to court to recover money.
The Canadian/Australian scenario exposes why there is a difference and why GM canola is not suited to Australian conditions. We need to compare apples with apples.
GM Invigor canola would not help the radish resistance problem as glufosinate ammonium does not control it.
Managing chemical resistant weeds is a complex issue involving many alternatives and adopting GM herbicide tolerant canola is not the solution.

You can find out all about Judy Carmen's expertise on the website of IHER if you are that interested and don't know what qualifications she has which I doubt.

It seems that you have your figures wrong for atrazine resistance. And I quote from http://wahri.agric.uwa.edu.au/News%20&%20Views%20Articles/Autumn05/MWCUradishsurvey.htm

"Screening also identified that there were significant proportions of wild radish populations with resistance to atrazine Group C (6%) and 2,4-D amine Group I (5%) herbicides."

So therefore only 6% of radish is resistant to Atrazine not almost 100%

Is it really safe, Thank you for your tip. I am indeed interested in Judy Carmen’s qualifications and experience if she is going to be conducting feeding studies. I understand that these are not simple studies to do and you would want to have some confidence in the experimenter to get them right.

I had a bit of searching to do, as IHER is not a well-known organisation. I eventually found their website, but it was not very informative. While it seems the Institute has been around since at least 2004, they do not seem to publish an annual report. Their research output seems to be very limited as well, consisting of two review-type chapters from a book published in 2004 and a letter from 2000. IHER have apparently done no new research. I also could find no information about their facilities, staff or location of offices.

Unfortunately, the brief biography of Judy Carmen does not provide a cv. Nor does it list feeding studies as one of her areas or expertise. I also could not find any scientific publications. Perhaps you can help me out here?

BTW, on the website you posted, you should look at Table 1. This lists 68% of wild radish populations developing resistance to atrazine and 6% with full resistance. I add that up to 74% as developing or with resistance. Is that not what I originally said?

What a laugh! I'd trust Judy Carman far more than I would trust Monsanto or Bayer Cropscience and that is who is responsible for doing the food testing to date.
I find it amusing that already the pro-GM sector is trying to discredit Judy, I know she did her PhD in animal feeding studies so I am sure she knows enough to do feeding studies.
What are the pro-GM sector so frightened of with independent health testing anyway? Surely it would be beneficial to allow others with concerns to prove that GM is safe?
Many chemicals are "developing resistances" (eg. 2,4-D) but the real problem is where they actually have resistances.

As you have amply demonstrated, you espouse information based not on its veracity, but because it fits your political agenda. We might start with lower yields in Canada of GM canola, Canada being unable to sell their canola, atrazine-resistant weeds stopping Canadian growers from using Atrazine-resistant canola and many others. Therefore, your endorsement of Judy Carman does not fill me with confidence. I recognise that you support her, not because she has any particular expertise (although she may do so), or that you have looked at her credentials carefully and compared them with other scientists and found her far superior, but simply because she supports your political agenda.

Thanks for letting me know Judy has a Ph.D. in animal feeding studies. This is not apparent from her biography on the IHER website where her Ph.D. is described as being in Medicine involving nutritional biochemistry and metabolic regulation. As a Director of an Institute, I am sure she has an impressive publication record. But, I have been struggling to find her publications, perhaps you could help me? Monsanto and Bayer are responsible for doing food testing? Are you sure? You should read http://gmopundit2.blogspot.com/2006/05/full-monty-on-animal-feeding-trials-of.html. This is an impressive list of documents, many conducted by people at organisations other than Monsanto and Bayer.

P.S. My name is not and never has been Bill.