There’s no point growing genetically modified crops unless somebody wants to buy them, says Agricore United.
Farmer delegates attending the grain company’s annual meeting fear that introducing GM crops before the marketplace is ready could risk prairie export markets.
“Let’s make sure we can sell it before we grow it,” said delegate Bill Ridgeway of Grosse Isle, Man. “We don’t want to destroy our markets. That’s the point of this resolution.”
The resolution opposed the “distribution and licensing” of new GM grains unless markets have been secured and a system of identity preservation has been developed to ensure they aren’t mixed in with other grains.
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It said GM crops have upset consumers at home and abroad and have the potential to become troublesome weeds and cost farmers more money.
In an interview later, Ridgeway said the widespread introduction of genetically modified canola has already cost Canada important markets, especially in Europe.
“If you look at the amount of canola that we used to ship into Europe, it’s the equivalent of the Manitoba crop,” he said. “Now we’ve got to find another market for all that.”
If the same things happen with wheat, oats or malting barley, the consequences could be disastrous, he said.
Lynn Jacobsen, a delegate from the Taber, Alta., area, said the vast majority of wheat customers, including all of the most lucrative markets, have made it clear to the Canadian Wheat Board they don’t want GM wheat or barley.
“They are demanding zero tolerance,” he said.
But Bruce Dalgarno, a delegate from Shoal Lake, Man., said the questions surrounding the development and licensing of new varieties of grain, including GM varieties, should be left to the experts and the appropriate regulatory bodies to decide.
“We shouldn’t intervene in the science of this,” he said.
Another delegate added that it’s dangerous to start putting non-scientific “intangibles”such as market acceptance into the registration and licensing process.
In a related resolution, the delegates voted to ask the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to delay registration of glyphosate-tolerant wheat until it is accepted by customers.
Delegates also supported a resolution asking the federal and provincial governments to adjust crop insurance programs to reflect the high cost of farm inputs.
And they voted to urge the federal government to give the same priority to protecting farmers from disasters beyond their control as it does to other industries, such as the airlines.
Delegates defeated a resolution asking that the Canadian government match American farm subsidy programs.
