Wear fun dress-ups, bring the kids and a picnic to join us in celebrating Victoria’s GM-free food so State Politicians get the message that we want our food to stay clean and green.

Madge is a network of people working to extend the ban on growing GM canola in Victoria. Currently the ban will expire at the end of February 2008. The State Government has formed a GM review panel to look at the economic effect of lifting the ban. Madge did both a written and oral presentation to the panel. Madge emphasised the superior alternatives to GM, the negative health effects of GM foods both in laboratory animals and documented ill health caused to the public.

Madge is concerned that there is virtually no testing of GM foods required. Allergies, sterility, illnesses and death of animals fed GM food have been reported by farmers. GM cotton in India has been a disaster and thousands of farmer suicides have been reported. However these reports only rarely make it into the mainstream media.

Madge is trying to correct that and has created an informative website that has many positive alternatives to GM and reports on what is happening in Victoria around food and health. We are encouraging people to write to their State Parliamentarians to extend the ban on GM until 2013.

Madge is organising a picnic in to show politicians that we value our clean green food and wish to keep it that way. We'd love you to join us and receive a weekly email of news and also have the chance to network with people in your area to work on keeping Victoria GM free.