What goes around comes around, and last week it was approval from the Environmental Risk Management Authority for trials which will allow genetic modification of cows, goats, sheep, and mice. Ten years ago or less, this would have been a defining moment for the anti-GM lobby. In 2010, however, it has attracted almost as muted a national media reaction as the mining issue. Perhaps there is such a slew of reversals on the achievements of environmental activism – support for action on climate change is another which has taken a big knock since the failure at Copenhagen – there is no fight left, or whether the public and media have moved on, is unclear.

The Greens’ Sue Kedgley railed against creating “Frankenstein animals” and the blogosphere erupted with comments from the sizable numbers of people still concerned by the issue, but little or no mainstream traction was observable. In this sense, the reaction appeared similar to the muted dissent initially seen on the mining issue when Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee first raised it late last year, albeit the Govt has somewhat lost the initiative on its mining proposals (see P2).

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GM trials squarely aimed at reducing healthcare costs while delivering human health benefits are also more politically palatable than GM research either combines animal and plant material, or which produces no more than, say, food or flavour benefits, which many consumers do not regard as sufficiently important to offset the perceived risks of GM. Where the debate will get interesting for NZ is in marrying its leadership role in the global research alliance on reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions with the current cautious stance on GM.

It is clear places with huge populations and limited land and water, like India and China, will be using GM to increase productivity, create plants and animals quickly which can adapt to the rigours of global climate change, and meet the 50% projected increase in demand for food by 2040. Notable over the weekend was the concentration of both television channels’ “serious current affairs” shows on the links between science, climate change and economic growth. It feels as if the Govt’s pragmatic, pro-development line is drawing the teeth of the traditional environmental activists, assisted in part by the global financial crisis pushing economic security up the list of personal concerns.

The AgResearch trials involve no disease-carrying organisms, will have an early assessment of adverse and beneficial impacts at the 10 year mark in the 20 year approval, and will benefit from FoRST funding to the tune of $8m over its first 5 years. Because goats will be used in the trials, there will be no use of the non-GM goats which normally graze the exclusion zones around the Ruakura research facility, in one of a host of precautions to prevent accidental release of GM substances. The trials also require none of the GM organisms created be capable of replicating themselves.

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