Ms Jamieson said existing legislation on genetically modified (GM) crops and animals was inadequate and left taxpayers and ratepayers exposed to liability.
Ratepayers who wanted to keep GM crops and animals out of Otago could prepare a submission to the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council to include a GM policy in their annual plans.
Ideally, the association wanted a policy that prohibited GM crops and animals being grown but a precautionary policy would be the least amount of protection required, so seed companies and farmers were liable rather than ratepayers, she said.
The level of protection offered nationally by the Environmental Protection Authority was inadequate.
''We are aiming for another level of protection and local government can help provide that.''
GM was a ''risky science'', Ms Jamieson said.
A Scottish company experimenting with GM sheep in New Zealand went broke, leaving a bill to destroy 3000 GM sheep with the New Zealand taxpayer, she said.
The taxpayer paid ''to clean up their mess''.
In Western Australia, organic and conventional canola crops were being contaminated with cross pollination from GM canola crops.
This meant some organic farmers had lost their certification, Ms Jamieson said.
A GM canola crop was nearly planted in Otago and Southland in 1999 but was stopped by a Green Party moratorium, she said.
There had been no applications to grow GM crops or raise GM animals commercially in New Zealand, she said.
''There was a huge public outcry against GE and I think that was quite offputting for seed companies.''
However, there had been field trials in New Zealand and large corporations, such as Bayer and Dow, had shown interest in selling GM products in New Zealand.
