Articles

The GM-Free Farmers are a not-for-profit farming group with membership currently open to any Western Australian farmer.

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The idea to start a new group dedicated to GM-free farming has been in the making for a number of years. The current situation in WA regarding the possible repeal of the GM Crop-Free Areas Act 2003, finally drove a core group of fifteen mostly conventional farmers from all over WA to take the initiative, hold an informal meeting and form the GM-Free Farmers in Sept 2014. A number of objectives were carefully drafted into a Mission Statement by which all future actions will be governed.

The most important issue the group quickly identified was the current lack of representation in the media and government of their views. With a group representing the majority of farmers' opinions on GM crops, a much more balanced debate can be had instead of just relying on industry motivated

statements from a few outspoken individuals as has been the case up until now.

A recent national poll (Farmonline - 9/6/14 "Should Australia embrace GM wheat?") attracted a staggering 1554 votes with a result of 93.2% against the idea. The GM-Free Farmers aim to give this clear majority of farmers a much needed outlet to voice their concerns on GM issues.