A forage group says the genetically modified flax incident has reinforced its long-held belief that Roundup Ready alfalfa could destroy the lucrative European alfalfa seed market.
“It just identifies what can happen,” said Leslie Jacobson, president of the Manitoba Forage Seed Association.
The group has been lobbying the federal government to force Monsanto and Forage Genetics International to abandon the research and commercialization of Roundup Ready alfalfa.
Approximately one-third of the $38.5 million in Canadian alfalfa seed exports in 2007-08 went to European countries that have not approved the GM crop.
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The association fears the industry would lose that $12.8 million market if Roundup Ready alfalfa was commercialized in Canada or if Monsanto’s research trials contaminate the Canadian crop.
Jacobson points to what has happened to the European market for flax in the wake of a GM contamination incident as proof that its fears are well founded.
Monsanto Canada spokesperson Trish Jordan understands the group’s concerns but said what it is proposing doesn’t make sense.
“You have to have the ability to conduct research, particularly on a product that has full food, feed and environmental release (approval),” she said.
The crop achieved Canadian regulatory approval in 2005. Monsanto didn’t do anything with that approval until 2008, when it planted 12 trials, four in each prairie province, to gather data for a submission to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency for a label allowing the use of Roundup on Roundup Ready alfalfa.
Jordan said 2009 was the final year of data gathering and the trials have now been terminated. There are no plans for new trials next year.
Jordan said the company followed all the regulations and took extra steps to ensure no contamination took place, but added it is impossible to guarantee Canada’s alfalfa seed exports will meet Europe’s stringent zero tolerance rules for unapproved traits.
Jacobson said the precautions, such as ensuring that research plots are at least 800 metres away from a conventional alfalfa seed producer, are inadequate because the crop is pollinated by leaf cutter bees that can travel six to eight kilometres. He is also concerned about U.S. contamination.
Roundup Ready alfalfa was briefly commercialized in the United States. It went on the market in 2005 but in May 2007 a U.S. District Court judge halted further sale or planting of the crop pending completion of an environmental impact statement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A draft version of the impact statement is expected later this year. Jacobson anticipates the crop will achieve regulatory approval in the U.S. in 2010, followed shortly by registration in Canada in 2011 unless the federal agriculture minister steps in and orders an economic impact study that would show the harm it could cause.
Monsanto anticipates it will submit its application to the PMRA next spring. The approval process typically takes 12 to 18 months, so a label could be granted in 2011.
Forage Genetics says it has no plans to commercialize Roundup Ready alfalfa in Canada at this time, according to spokesperson Jeanne Forbis.
