MORRIS, Man. – The Canadian Wheat Board is keeping track of the growing list of processors around the world that say they do not want to buy genetically modified crops.
The board said earlier this fall it does not want genetically modified, or GM, wheat registered in Canada until there is buyer acceptance and practical ways to segregate it from traditional wheat varieties,
Tom Halpenny, farm policy adviser with the board, said the board will do all it can to develop a responsible strategy for dealing with GM wheat when it becomes available.
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He told farmers at a Customer Connection meeting that the board has much to gain by looking at the grain industry’s experience with marketing GM canola, soybeans and corn.
“Looking ahead is much more difficult.”
Last year, the wheat board hired a third-party researcher to survey 25 customers from around the world on their attitudes toward GM grain.
The survey, done last February, revealed customers were interested in future generations of GM grain with specific quality attributes that will bring economic advantages to their systems.
Since then, large processors have been lining up to announce their positions on GM grain, noted Halpenny.
All the board’s Italian durum buyers, including large pasta maker Barilla, have stated they do not want GM durum.
The three largest food processors in Europe Ð Nabisco, Danone and Unilever Ð also do not want GM grain.
The Warburtons company, a high-profile United Kingdom customer, has given an “unequivocal no” to GM grain, said Halpenny.
Warburtons has said it never wants to use GM wheat.
In Japan, Nippon is starting to use wheat starch instead of corn starch because of the GM issue.
In Mexico, tortilla maker Groupo Maseca has also said it does not want to use GM grain.
Malting barley customers have all said they don’t want GM barley, even in countries like China where other GM grains are widely accepted.
Halpenny called it significant that McCain’s Foods Ltd. will not accept GM potatoes until consumers get over their fears of the products.
A proposal by the Tokyo Grain Exchange to develop a futures contract for non-GM soybeans is also an important development, he said.
If the futures contract is successfully launched, it will show there is a large market for non-GM soybeans and will give buyers a sense of the premium they hold over GM soybeans, he said.
The wheat board has developed customer profiles to track customers’ changing opinions and views on the GM issue.
The board is also telling customers there’s no GM wheat and barley grown in Canada.
“They’re asking that point-blank directly,” he said.
Co-op trials of Roundup Ready wheat are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2000, he noted.
The GM wheat may come up for registration by 2002-03.
“We’re not saying ‘no’ to the research,” said Halpenny.
But if the wheat qualifies for registration, the grain industry will face challenges in handling it, he said.
There are no provisions in Canada’s seed regulations that prevent registration based on lack of market acceptance, Halpenny said.
The industry needs a way to detect GM wheat and segregate it from the farmgate through to the vessel, so it can guarantee customers they are getting the specific type of wheat they want.
The industry also needs a way to keep players accountable.
“If there’s going to be liability issues, it’s going to come right back down to the farm,” he said.-
