Australian wine industry not sold on GM inputs

(FoodMag) - Managing director of the Australian Wine Institute, Dan Johnson says that while other nations in the biotechnology scene may be willing to take the lead in GM wine production, Australia is happy to take a back seat.

“GM is a big part of most agricultural research that’s done, and that is true of all major agricultural crops and grape growing is no exception,” Johnson told ABC News.

“The Australian wine sector has a very clear position for the use of GM in its industry and that is informed by a range of different market forces…”

Johnson says that while a significant proportion of the Australian wine sector is against the use of GM inputs, it is not an opinion shared by all.

“I would say that there is not a completely uniform view... if you put 100 growers in a room, some would look to embrace new technology whether that is GM or non GM or some other form of technology.

“There are some people that are inherently more innovative than others, but I think in the main, there is still widespread concern of what the use of GM for example would do to export markets, what it might do to the perception of the overall Australian wine category.

"As a result, the wine category doesn't look at that very seriously."