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But the people of Australia's third largest island, which is the size of a large north Australian cattle station at 4405sq km, are proving that its relatively small size should be no drawback to success.

It is, after all, big enough to be an independent nation as it is six times bigger than Singapore and dwarfs places such as Bermuda, Macau and Monaco.

The creative forces sweeping the island's food sector have in the past two decades gradually extended from its traditional lamb, beef, seafood and famous ligurian bee honey to include a smorgasbord of products such as free range eggs, sheep milk cheeses, marron, cherries, berries, olive oil, chickens, pigs, ducks and a range of different grains.

The island already boasts one of the nation's largest abalone farms, the KI Abalone Farm, Fryar's Free Range Eggs, one of the biggest free range farms and the innovative Kangaroo Island Pure Grain business among its operations.

Cool climate vegetable production has become the latest food venture.

Source: Adelaide Now

Genetic modification (GM) is a technology that takes genes from one life form and introduces them into another. Using GM, genes from bacteria, viruses, plants and animals are inserted into crops such as soybeans, canola, corn and cotton to grow commercial crops. These GM (geneticially modified) crops (also called genetically engineered crops) are processed into foods and sold in our stores.

Although there have been no long-term studies into the impacts of GM food on human health, available studies give cause for serious concern. For example, a peer-reviewed study released in 2007 shows evidence of liver and kidney toxicity in rats fed an approved variety of GM corn. No follow-up studies have been conducted to determine the implications for human health of these results.

Source: TRUEFOOD: GM-Our Right To Know - Four Cow Farm

by staffcurrent026

When genetically modified, or GM, foods were first marketed in this country, companies like Monsanto went to great lengths to prevent them from being labeled. The argument was that labeling would give consumers the impression there was something wrong with GM foods, hurting their sales or lowering prices. Not only was such labeling not required, but it was essentially banned.

On the other side, consumer advocates and others argued that consumers were entitled to know what was in their food, even if it had not been deemed harmful, and that they should be free to make informed choices. The GM food industry asserted there was no proof that GM foods were harmful, but the opposition countered that there was no proof of harmful health effects mostly because no studies had been conducted.

As a result, this nation went one way and others went another on GM foods. We not only permitted GM foods, but we did not label them. Meanwhile, the European Union, Japan, Russia, Australia, Brazil and China require labeling. In some cases, GM foods have been banned.

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