GMOs

Steve Marsh Loses His Case to be GM Free

Today we are deeply disappointed to inform you that Steve Marsh lost his case to stop GM canola coming on to his farm. Read our Press Release below.

The future of organic and non GM food in Australia is uncertain after a WA farmer today lost his legal battle with a neighbouring farmer.

Steve Marsh lost organic certification on his Kojonup farm – and most of his livelihood – when his farm was contaminated by GM canola. He sued his neighbour in the WA Supreme Court for his losses, and to protect his farm into the future.

The court in its summary and judgment (PDFs) stated the decision by NASAA (National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia) to decertify Steve was erroneous. Given the extent of the contamination of Steve’s farm we fail to see how NASAA could have taken any other decision. Certainly 100% of organic consumers would support the NASAA decision.

Because the court did not recognise the NASAA decertification the court did not recognise the economic loss Steve suffered, and dismissed the case that Steve had brought for negligence and nuisance.

Scott Kinnear, director of the Safe Food Foundation, says he is very disappointed and gravely concerned for Steve Marsh and his family and their farm and for the future of organic and non GM food in Australia remaining GM free.

"This is a huge setback for organic and Non GM farmers and their choice to remain GM Free."

"This has been an important test case, of interest to many parties, locally and globally.

"If Steve on legal advice chooses to take this case further, the Safe Food Foundation will continue to work to legally protect the rights of Australian consumers to buy organic produce free of GM."

"We also call on our legislators to work on finding a solution to this vexed issue. State and Federal governments have continuously stated that the solution to any GM contamination events is common law. This has clearly failed today and demonstrates that the law has not kept up with new technologies such as GM."

"We thank Steve Marsh who has risked his farm to make a stand for all of us, a move that demonstrated his courage, tenacity and integrity."

Mr Kinnear also thanked Slater & Gordon and the many people and businesses in more than 30 countries who contributed amounts large and small to this landmark case, but warned them that the battle may not be over.

While law firm Slater & Gordon donated its legal services, other costs were provided through a unique crowd-sourced funding campaign organised by the Safe Food Foundation.

Prospects of an Appeal

Steve’s lawyers will study the judgment and advise Steve of his legal options. We will get back to you if Steve decides to appeal.

Your support to assist us to repay the last of our loans is gratefully appreciated so that we can leap into action to further support Steve if the need arises.

7 Comments

  1. Common Law has nothing to do with Organic certification! it is about one person being ‘harmed’ by another… as is the case with Steve… it is unfortunate that the court has used/allowed this technicality to prevent justice..

    Keep up the FIGHT !!

  2. This is typical of corporation rule. They can get their way with every thing . If we are under corporate law then only sacred thing is profit. TPP will make things worse .

  3. This is a disappointing outcome. I read years ago – and someone please correct me if I am wrong in this understanding – that the legal system is not a justice system, but appears to be a system established to administer itself.

  4. Not surprising. If only people understood healthy farming instead of profit farming. We have become lazy, and enjoy too many modern day conveniences including farming. It is also a fallacy to believe that we need chemicals, sprays, GM etc. I live in the forest and grow lots of varieties of fruits, veges and herbs without any sprays at all. Why on earth would you want to eat spray or GM??????? Oh yes, its not the farmer who does, its the poor consumer. Proper healthy farming takes work and effort but in the end it is healthy and sustainable, but we have moved past logic now, as with medicine. Pathetic and sad.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Back to top button