Stop Dangerous Pesticides | Support GM Food Labelling

Stop Dangerous Pesticides in Australia

About 75% of the pesticides approved for use in Australia were moved into our current system 15 years ago, as a legacy, without a modern safety assessment. Australia's chemical review process has not been able to keep up with addressing risks to human health and the environment.  A few facts:

• More than 80 of the pesticides registered in Australia are no longer authorised in Europe.

• At least 17 pesticides registered for use in Australian agriculture are suspected carcinogens, and 48 are potential hormone disruptors.

• 8 chemicals with known safety risks have been under review by our regulator for more than 13 years, some for more than 15 years.

• Over 40 chemicals have been nominated for review because of concerns about their safety.

What can you do?

Sign the WWF Stop Selling Dangerous Pesticides in Australia Petition:  Since 2007, WWF has been campaigning to raise awareness, partner with industry and engage constructively with government to cut pollution. Incentives to change to sustainable farming practices are being offered and alternative practices are being adopted, change is happening, but the rate of change needs to be faster and more widespread.  Share this information with your friends.

Support Genetically Modified Food Labelling

What can you do?

• Sign the GM Food - Our Right to Know Petition:  For the first time, genetically modified (GM) food crops are being grown in Australia, posing potential risks to the environment and human health. However, there is currently no way for shoppers to ensure that their groceries are GM free, as labelling is not required for most products containing GM ingredients. Australians want GM food labelled for health, environmental and ethical reasons.

• If this issue is important to you, take action by signing the petition online or downloading the petition to collect signatures in your community.

• Do you know which food and drinks are free of genetically modified ingredients, and which may contain GM?  Get your free TrueFood Guide so you can make more informed choices about what you eat.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
GM Labelling Petition.pdf	Make your voice heard	193 Kb

Reduce Waste

What can you do?

Keep Australia Beautiful & EcoVoice Say No to Junk Mail - Read your catalogues online

Keep Australia Beautiful needs help to get "No Junk Mail - I read my Catalogues Online at Eco Voice" stickers on as many letterboxes across Australia as possible.

For people who would prefer not to receive unsolicited mail in their letterbox, EcoVoice has created a ‘No Junk Mail’ sticker. 50c from each $1 sale is donated to Keep Australia Beautiful. You can read catalogues online at Eco Voice or go direct to the relevant company or retailer website.

Change your Tuna | Say NO to bad wood | Say NO to GM Bread

Improve Food Labelling Laws

Support the True Food Network's campaign to make politicians listen to consumer concerns about genetically modified foods and improve the GE food labelling laws.

What can you do?

Email Nicola Roxon - Our federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, oversees the agencies responsible for the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) food crops in Australia. These are the Office of Gene Technology Regulator and Food Standards Australia New Zealand. She also presides over the Food Regulation Ministerial Council, which is planning to review food labelling laws in the near future.

Nicola Roxon needs to listen to consumer concern and require the stringent safety testing of GE crops and food, as well as improve the GE food labelling laws so that all food with GE ingredients be labelled.

Write to her asking that she introduce, and strictly enforce, legislation to ensure that:

• GE crops are only approved if they are proven to be safe 'beyond reasonable doubt', using evidence from independent, long-term, published studies and measuring indicators relevant to human health.

• All GE foods are clearly labelled, including highly processed products such as oils, starches and sugars from GE crops; and meat, milk, cheese and eggs from animals fed GE feed.

Change your Tuna

The world's favourite fish – tuna – is in serious trouble.  While every major player in the UK tuna industry has improved how it sources tuna, the Australian industry drags the chain.

The key to the UK success was consumer pressure!

What can you do?

• Tell the Australian tuna industry to also change its tuna. Greenpeace has made it easy with a standard letter you can just submit and they will send it on your behalf to all brands who refuse to stop using destructive fishing methods.

• How do canned tuna brands stack up on overfishing and destructive fishing techniques? Make better choices: Get the Canned Tuna guide.

Say NO to bad wood

At present, Australia imports illegal timber that is directly linked to biodiversity loss, human rights abuses and climate change. If you want to be able to buy ethical timber products, support ecologically sustainable forestry and support local industry, you can take action.

What can you do?

• Greenpeace makes it easy for you to write a detailed letter to the government, demanding the government sticks to their election promise on illegal timber imports.  You can customise their standard letter easily with a few clicks.

• Make an informed, environmentally responsible decision when buying wood and wood products. Get the Good Wood guide.

Say NO to GM Bread

Tell the Australian Government that you won't swallow GM bread. Genetically modified (GM) wheat has never been proven safe to eat. Yet our Government is about sell a 'patent'on Australia's daily bread to a handful of foreign biotech corporations.  These biotech companies have just released GM wheat across five Australian states and territories. But Australian people and Australian farmers were never consulted.

Unless the Government wakes up, Australians will be the first people in the world to eat unsafe GM bread.  Not just that, our farmers will be forced to pay foreign biotech corporations, like Monsanto, even if they don’t want GM genes on their land.

What can you do?

Download the Australian Wheat Scandal report and get wise to what is really going on.

Email Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Health Minister Nicola Roxon and Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig, and demand they stop GM wheat being grown in Australia.  Greenpeace makes it easy with a standard letter that only takes a minute to add your details and send.

Support The Permaculture Master Plan – Permaculture Centres Worldwide

An initiative of The Permaculture Research Institute

The answers to the world’s woes – waning energy supplies, depleted and contaminated soils and water, reduced biodiversity, the dismantling of communities, etc. – are all there. The PRI is doing great work to restore natural abundance where before was only desolation. But, the job will get done a great deal faster with your help!