A new poll has found that 57 percent of Canadians do not trust the federal government’s safety and regulatory system for genetically modified food.
The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), which campaigns against GMOs, commissioned Ipsos Reid to survey more than 1,000 Canadians on perceptions of GM food labelling and safety.
CBAN released survey results in late September.
Lucy Sharratt, who leads CBAN, said lack of transparency has been an issue in GMO regulations for two decades.
“Our regulatory system has not changed through 20 years of controversy and learning on this issue,” she said.
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“What’s driving that lack of (public) confidence is a complete lack of transparency in the entire process.”
Critics have argued that the process is compromised because corporations submit safety data on GMOs to Health Canada.
Federal government scientists evaluate the results, but the data is not made public for proprietary reasons. Industry representatives say the process is rigorous because government scientists oversee the testing.
Karin Wittenberg, dean of the University of Manitoba’s agriculture department, said Canadian producers should be worried about the public’s lack of trust in the GMO review process.
“If they (Canadians) have formed an opinion … that the registration process isn’t rigorous enough, then they’re going to be uncomfortable with the concept of genetically modified organisms,” Wittenberg said. “So that hurts the farmer, and it’s a problem throughout the food chain.”
Sharratt said Canadian farmers will benefit if Health Canada beefs up its GMO regulations.
“What everyone should be relying on is government regulation … (that) inspires confidence because it is rigorous and transparent, but that’s not the case and it hasn’t been the case for 20 years,” she said.
“That needs to be dealt with for the sake of the entire agriculture community.”
Mike von Massow, a University of Guelph professor who studies food issues, said 57 percent of people in the survey may not trust the regulatory system, but actual perceptions are probably more complex.
“It’s not unusual to see that de-gree of skepticism in a survey.”
He said Canadians have become more cynical about government processes.
“We have seen things … like the thalidomide issue, where the government told everyone it was safe and clearly it was not, to most re-cently our government certifying Volkswagen’s emission testing.”
Von Massow said most Canadians don’t know how the government regulates GM food, and the lack of understanding breeds concern.
“I’m not really sure what the process is, and lots of people are telling me this is bad. So maybe I should be told a little bit more. I think that’s the message from that survey.”
Von Massow said crop science companies should consider releasing more data because the lack of information is damaging their brand.
“We have to walk a delicate balance on this whole proprietary information, but I can’t believe that safety information is proprietary,” he said. “Even if you have costs associated with giving out information that you’d like to keep confidential, there is significant value in terms of earning consumer trust.”
Wittenberg agreed that more transparency would help restore faith in regulatory oversight and GMO technology.
“Our government and our industry partners have to continue to find better ways of sharing information … with the public,” she said.
“If it’s data that’s relevant to our public health, or other social concerns, there has to be a vehicle which information is shared.”
