CONFERENCE ATTEMPTING TO FACILITATE A COALITION OF GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY AND ACADEMICS TO ENSURE A FUTURE FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS THROUGH A BIOTECH PROTOCOL.
Charlottetown Guardian | February 5, 2000 | Steve Sharratt
PERTH ANDOVER, N.B. -- Potato growers here were, according to this story, advised this week that communicating the value and safety of genetically modified foods is no easy task, especially when, as Stephen Yarrow, a chief biologist of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency told the New Brunswick Potato Conference, that a recent worldwide biotech conference barely garnered a media headline.
However, the story says, some growers who oppose the technology don't like the idea of becoming pushers for GM foods. During a question-and-answer session, Grand Falls grower Conrad Toner was cited as comparing the BT potato to a pesticide, adding, "It's hard for a farmer to ask a consumer to eat a pesticide. If we're going to promote this technology, then we have to look at how serious the implications are. Growers aren't convinced this product is safe and it's a shame to test these products on human beings."
Yarrow was cited as saying the procedure to introduce any genetically modified crop species is lengthy and rigorous, adding that, "I smile when I hear regulations are too loose or that we're in the pockets of industry. There is a lot of attention on the biotech industry, which is a very sophisticated technique, and we take it very seriously."
The CFIA has been criticized by numerous environmental and consumer groups who say not enough human-consumption testing has been conducted to ensure food quality safety.
The CFIA is responsible for regulating the introduction of new crops (there are more than 1,000 crop trials across the country), while Health Canada is responsible for actual food safety.
GM foods are crops, like BT potatoes, that have been genetically altered with a natural organism to resist certain plant viruses and insect infestation.
Naturemark potatoes, produced by Monsanto, are spliced with genes that kill the Colorado Potato Beetle when the pest bites into the leaf.
The controversy over GM foods, labelled Frankenfood in Europe, has led to a public outcry against altered foods and prompted New Brunswick-based McCain Foods to announce it would stop buying BT potatoes last fall for its food processing operations.
While there are no documented cases of human sickness, there are, the story say, scientific studies which suggest rats and monarch butterflies have been adversely affected by GM food.
A member of the National Farmers Union, Toner supports the McCain Foods decision to stop buying GM potatoes and said farmers don't want to sell products mistrusted by the public, stating, "Why are we promoting something the public doesn't want in the first place," he said. "We have to protect our customers and sell them what they want and not shove it down their throat. There should be a moratorium on the BT potato until it's tested to see if it is in fact safe."
Yarrow insisted the CFIA is the regulating body providing safeguards while Health Canada does a "good job" ensuring human consumption safety.
"People want to know if they affect the environment. We all know that agriculture as a whole does have an effect on the environment, so we really need to make sure these new types don't pose additional risk. Our role is not to promote commercialization, these products are tested by the companies."
But Toner said the idea of a company testing it's own product holds no credibility with the consumer and the future of BT potato production is in jeopardy.
