Nine out of ten public submissions to the Parliamentary Review of Western Australia's ban on GE crops wanted the ban to stay. Polling in December last year showed 61% of people in WA don't want to eat GE foods. That puts them on the same page as consumers and food companies nationally, the vast majority of which reject GE ingredients.

Add to this that consumers in the EU, which is Western Australia's main export market, completely reject GE Canola, and Terry Redman's decision to approve growing of GE Canola in WA is difficult to understand and justify.

Not only will lifting the ban on GE Canola in WA risk $535 million in canola exports each year, it will mean more GE in our food and more threats to Australia's unique biodiversity.

Independent health studies show that GE Canola had toxic effects when fed to rats, damaging their livers and kidneys. There have NEVER been any independent studies to assess what impact GE crops have on the Australian environment. The findings of Farm Scale Evaluations in the UK found 24 per cent fewer butterflies in the margins of GM Canola and risk of depleted food sources for invertebrates, mammals and birds.

Letting GE Canola pollute Australia's biggest grain producing state is a major risk to Australia's food security and we just don't know what harm it will do to our environment.

If you care about eating healthy food and you want to protect the Australian environment, take action now. Email John Bowler, an independent politician whose vote will be crucial to blocking the Agriculture Minister's decision, and let him know how you feel.

Some points you could include:

• Vote against Redman's decision to introduce GE Canola in WA, because like Australian consumers, EU consumers reject GE food and this puts WA's $535 million canola exports at risk.
• Canada's experience shows GE Canola is impossible to segregate.
  
• Introducing GE Canola into Australia's biggest grain state risks Australia's canola seed security. In NSW and Victoria, seed companies are already telling farmers that they cannot guarantee that seed is GE-free.
• There are no economic benefits associated with GE canola. It costs 15% more to grow than conventional canola - once the additional cost of the seed, inputs, user fee and end point royalty fees are taken into account - and there is no evidence of higher yields.
• The Grains Research and Development Corporation National Variety trials last year are the only independent trials that have been conducted on GE canola in Australia. In these trials, the highest yielding GE canola variety yielded 10% less than the highest yielding non-GE canola variety.

If you want to get MORE ACTIVE on the threat of GE crops to our environment, contact laura.kelly@greenpeace.org" href="%3Ca%20href=%22mailto:laura.kelly@greenpeace.org%22%3Elaura.kelly@greenpeace.org%3C/a%3E">Laura Kelly.