Ray Bauml figures he could get up to $15 a bushel by selling his organic canola to European markets.
He expects the crop would work well if seeded with alfalfa on his sandier land and that it would add diversity to his crop rotation.
That was his plan earlier this year.
But now Bauml and other organic farmers feel canola is too risky as nearby conventional farmers seed genetically engineered varieties. They worry pollen from these canolas can be passed via winds and bees to organic fields, making the crop unacceptable for most European markets.
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In Europe, many consumers are insisting all genetically modified products be labeled so they can identify and avoid them.
Bauml, who farms in the Marysburg, Sask., area, is upset his farming options are narrowed because of genetically engineered canola seed.
“This way I don’t think anybody will grow it now,” he said, adding it’s against organic regulations to seed genetically engineered canola.
Organic canola represents only about .007 percent of Canadian canola production, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But canola is only one of the issues, said Bauml. He is also worried about the ramifications of research into genetically engineered wheat. When that technology comes, organic farmers won’t be able to buy seed from many growers or get conventional plants to clean their grain, he fears.
“We’ll have to completely and totally isolate our production. That’s kind of infringing on our right to keep operating.”
His biggest concern is losing the freedom to farm as he sees fit.
“My grandfather left Europe because he was sick of being a serf on some big land holding and as his offspring here in North America, I feel we are just moving at high speed right back into that same serfdom.”
Darrin Qualman, executive secretary for the National Farmers Union, thinks companies that market genetically engineered seed should compensate organic farmers for lost markets.
Since they won’t likely do that voluntarily, his organization is urging the federal government for legislation to make it happen.
“We wonder how organic farming can be sustainable in the long term unless organic producers can be protected from these genetically modified organisms drifting into their crops.”
Bart Bilmer, biotechnology regulatory officer with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, knows about organic farmers’ concerns. But he thinks they can co-operate with neighbors to ensure their crops aren’t contaminated. This is the same route farmers with pedigreed seed have to take, he added.
“We think this is an issue of co-operation. It’s been achieved in other areas and that mechanism is probably the easiest, particularly for the farmers.”
The potential for cross pollination is reduced when the canola varieties are 200 metres apart, he added.
That doesn’t satisfy Qualman.
“That’s a ludicrous idea hatched by people who have never been out in the country, I suspect.”
Organic farmers need to prove there isn’t any cross pollination with genetically engineered crops and bees can carry pollen for many kilometres, said Qualman.
According to Keith Downey, research scientist with Agriculture Canada, there is no safe distance to ensure zero cross pollination.
“Only if you’re in the inner mountain valleys of B.C. or somewhere like that are you pretty safe from the conventional growing area in western Canada.”
He stressed genetically engineered canola is safe and while methods exist to test for transgenic canola seeds, there is no way to tell whether canola oil on the shelf contains material from transgenic plants.
Dale Adolphe, president of the Canola Council of Canada, thinks European concerns may spill into other continents.
“I think the situation can’t get much more intense than what it is in Europe now, but I think it will likely get more intense in Australia, Japan and North America before consumers develop a trust and an understanding in the science.”
He estimates 60 percent of canola seeded this year will be genetically modified varieties. He agrees it’s difficult for organic farmers to ensure no pollen from genetically altered canola enters their fields. But at the same time they can’t guarantee there hasn’t been pesticide drift, he added.
If European markets would accept canola that is 95 or 98 percent pure, organic farmers would be better able to meet the target, said Adolphe.
“The disheartening thing about it is it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to provide a zero tolerance in anything these days.”
Ian Cushon, an organic farmer in the Oxbow, Sask., area insists organic farmers shouldn’t have to put up with any levels of contamination.
“If we’ve got this problem then maybe we should expect science to come up with solutions to the problem.”
