VANCOUVER – Proponents of biotechnology are fighting a losing battle
for the public’s hearts and minds, says a Canadian expert on biotech
issues.
And that is resulting in regulations that make it increasingly
difficult to grow and trade genetically modified crops, says Dale
Adolphe of the Canadian Seed Growers Association.
Perhaps the only way to turn the tide of public opinion will be to come
up with a GM commodity that provides a direct benefit to consumers, he
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But he also warned that’s not about to happen soon.
“I don’t think there’s anything on the horizon within five years, and
that’s a long time in terms of regulatory development,” he said.
Adolphe, who gained plenty of experience with GM issues during his
tenure as head of the Canola Council of Canada, said consumer critics
often complain that all the benefits of GM crops go to the
multinational corporations that own the technology or to farmers.
Developing a GM commodity with a trait that provides a direct health or
financial benefit to consumers would go a long way toward blunting that
criticism.
“If we can get a consumer benefit in there, maybe that will shift the
consumers to accept the science.”
Adolphe said it’s frustrating to see unreasonable rules imposed on the
industry in response to ill-informed public opinion.
“We’re losing the battle from the standpoint that regulators are
imposing more and more regulations that have no science basis,” he said
in an interview after speaking to the council’s annual convention.
“There are no food or feed safety issues here, but you’re getting
regulations and traceability schemes imposed on the system.”
Another concern is the push from some groups to identify and label not
only food products that actually contain genetically modified material,
but those that are derived from products that may contain genetically
modified material.
The problem is there is no analytical procedure that can determine on a
scientific basis the presence of such material, so it has to rely on
paper trails involving things like affidavits and identity preserved
systems.
The issue of GM crops was a popular topic in speeches, questions and
coffee-break discussion at the canola council’s two-day convention.
Putting the issue uppermost in some people’s minds was continuing
confusion over new rules imposed by China to control the import of GM
products, rules that some in the industry see as a blatant attempt by
the Chinese government to take advantage of consumer concerns over GM
crops to create new trade barriers.
When that’s added to the continuing refusal by Europe to import GM
canola from Canada, it raises red flags among canola growers and
exporters.
Thomas Mielke, editor of Oil World magazine, said the fight over GM
crops is so difficult because the opponents use emotions, not facts.
“Those who are opinion makers in Europe are on this subject not well
educated,” he said.
They just want to use the GM issue as part of a broader fight against
globalization and multinational corporations, he said.
“It’s more a political issue than a scientific issue,” he said. “How
can you fight those people?”
Adolphe said it’s ironic that even as public protests and opposition to
GM food products seem to grow and even as new regulations and controls
are put in place, the total acreage devoted to GM crops around the
world is expanding.
That may be what eventually brings the debate to an end, said Adolphe.
“It’s a hell of a thing to say that the way we win is don’t give the
consumer a choice, but that might be it.”
He said the canola industry is fortunate for now that it still has
markets willing to take its products without concern over the GM issue,
in Japan, Mexico, the United States, China and the Canadian domestic
market.
“If some of those start to close their doors or put in regulations, it
becomes more difficult,” he said.
