The farmer and the Gene

The Dutch government is exploring the opportunities of genetic manipulation in agriculture. It seems the right way to go in a country which relies on such an industrialized farming system. But how ready are Dutch farmers to take over the new technology? Starting from the expectations and concerns of different farmers, the documentary explores issues like: environmental and health safety of GM crops and coexistence of GM crops next to conventional and organic crops. Can different methods of food production exist together in a small country like The Netherlands or are they incompatible?

Lidy de Munter, conventional farmer
" We say, make sure first. Government do your work. If you allow something on the market, that means its safe. And as long as you don't know if its safe you have to research it, and stick to the precautionary principle, which means that you can not allow it. That first you have to do the research in a laboratory to see whether the seeds are safe both in the short and the long term."

Jaap Satter, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality

" I certainly understand the present concerns in the Netherlands about the situation that apparently exists in Spain at the moment. The point is that coexistence in Spain has been regulated differently than in the Netherlands. We must carry out coexistence field tests here because information obtained from abroad cannot be applied directly in the Netherlands. But once more I understand the concerns, and that is an extra reason to ensure that we, with our coexistence agreements in the Netherlands and the monitoring program that is part of it, we do everything to make coexistence possible in the Netherlands." 

Inge Schwagermann, organic farmer

"I think that if GM crops are going to be cultivated widely in the Netherlands, as organic farmer you have to look for another place."