WINNIPEG (Reuters) – The head of Syngenta’s Canadian division has warned of enormous consequences to Canada’s trading reputation if Ottawa passes a bill that changes how genetically modified crops are approved.
The legislation, now before the House of Commons, would require Ottawa to analyze the possible harm to export markets before approving new GM varieties.
“The resulting consequences of passing Bill C-474 could be enormous to the Canadian agricultural industry and to Canada’s reputation as a science-based trading nation,” Syngenta Canada president Jay Bradshaw said in a speech he was scheduled to deliver in Ottawa to a business audience.
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“This (bill) would result in denying Canadian farmers access to new technologies.”
Canada’s regulatory process is now rigorous and based on science, he added.
Bradshaw said pesticides and new crop varieties are critical to producing enough food for a growing world population.
Canada, with the world’s second-largest arable land base per capita and large quantities of fresh water, is critical to expanding crop production, he added.
The country is the world’s top exporter of spring wheat, durum and canola.
Bradshaw’s concerns echo criticism of the bill by groups such as the Canola Council of Canada and Grain Growers of Canada.
They say taking such a stand on GM crops would leave Canadian farmers lagging global rivals and jeopardize exports of existing GM crops.
Other groups, such as the National Farmers Union, strongly support the bill. They point to the decline in flax shipments to the European Union since last summer after trace amounts of GM materials were found as proof of potential GMO damage.
European consumers are wary of genetically modified organisms, prompting politicians to impose strict requirements on certain food products.
