For the first time, the world’s most prominent environmental campaigner has targeted a shipment of Canadian canola.
On Oct. 2, Greenpeace activists attempted to prevent the loading of an Agricore United shipment of 20,000 tonnes of canola destined for Japan.
Climbers suspended themselves from cranes on a vessel docked in Vancouver. They held signs saying, “Biohazard: GE Export.”
After a few hours of police negotiations the peaceful protest came to an end. Greenpeace Canada claimed the event prevented the loading of the ship, but Agricore United officials say otherwise.
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“We kept loading the vessel while they were on board. It didn’t slow us down at all,” said oilseed manager Dave Parsons.
He said the ship sailed for Japan as scheduled and incurred no demurrage as a result of the incident.
Greenpeace targeted the ship because it claims Canada is violating its international obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety by exporting genetically modified canola. The protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from risks posed by biotechnology.
Even though Canada hasn’t signed the protocol, canola shippers are already complying with it, said Dave Wilkins, communications director for the Canola Council of Canada.
“We’re not breaking any of the spirit or the actual regulations of the protocol,” he said.
Canada only exports canola to countries that consider GM products to be safe.
Greenpeace said Canada is violating the agreement because it can’t ensure there won’t be GM contamination of conventional crops in the importing nations.
“Canada’s flawed agricultural biotechnology regulatory system is not up to the task of protecting the environment of either Canada or importing countries such as Japan and China,” said Patrick Venditti, a Greenpeace Canada campaigner.
The group said Canada is ignoring “growing international rejection” of GM crops. As proof, it cites statistics showing Canadian exports to the European Union have fallen from an average of $185 million in the mid-1990s to a little more than $1 million a year. Sales to China have dropped from more than $350 million in 2001 to less than $16 million in 2002.
Wilkins rejected that analysis.
“Greenpeace gets an A-plus for theatrics but they failed when it comes to the facts on this whole episode.”
He said there is no proof the EU would have kept buying canola at the pace it did prior to its moratorium on imports of GM products.
As for China, it moves in and out of canola markets every year and is not shying away from GM product.
