Flax growers are worried that tiny packets of sterile, genetically modified seeds given out by a scientist could destroy the European market for Canadian flax.
Growers, traders and the scientist who has caused the controversy agree the seeds themselves are not dangerous. But some fear that by giving them out, Alan McHughen may be exposing growers to anti-GM hysteria in Europe – a market that buys 60 percent of Canada’s flax.
“This could ruin our market. There’s no point to it at all,” said Terry Boehm, a member of the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission who made public the fight over the seeds.
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“He’s defying the collective wisdom of the industry and producers.”
McHughen, a crop scientist at the University of Saskatchewan, has on numerous occasions given out tiny packets of flax seeds to people interested in GM crops. The seeds were the Triffid variety McHughen developed in the mid-1990s. It was a genetically modified crop, the first and so far only registered GM flax variety.
The variety never made it to commercial growers. After the flax industry raised concerns about European opposition to GM crops, the variety was pulled.
The amounts McHughen gives out are tiny. The seeds are contained in small coin envelopes that each hold about 145 seeds and could not produce significant amounts of the crop.
McHughen said the seeds he’s giving out now are sterile. They are used only for educational purposes, so they pose no threat to Canadian markets.
“You could not take one of these seed packages and jeopardize the Canadian flax market in Europe,” said McHughen.
But growers and traders worry that McHughen’s actions could make Europeans think GM flax is widespread in Canada. Europe bans GM products now.
UGG flax trader Glen Pownall thinks Triffid should never have been registered because it upset European buyers.
“It’s a serious issue to us right now. We’re pretty scared.”
Traders, the Flax Council of Canada and the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission are all asking the University of Saskatchewan to deregister Triffid and destroy remaining stocks.
Pownall said the government should ensure no more GM flax varieties are registered. If they are, the European market would probably be lost, he said. That could reduce the price of flax to $2.50 per bushel.
The Saskatchewan commission will soon meet with university officials to demand that McHughen stop distributing the samples. Some flax growers have said they should withhold their research money unless McHughen complies.
