Alan McHughen is a longtime expert on the storm surrounding genetically modified foods.
Now he has caused one.
The University of Saskatchewan crop breeder and biotechnology promoter is in hot water with flax growers because he has continued to hand out tiny amounts of GM flax months after they asked him to stop.
Growers worry the packets could upset Europeans and lose Canada its most lucrative flax market. McHughen said the seeds pose no threat to Canadian exports and the furore around him is typical of the hysteria that erupts whenever genetic engineering comes up.
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“We knew that this was a controversial issue,” said McHughen, who developed the first and only registered GM flax variety.
He has been giving out small samples to people interested in seeing what a GM seed looks like.
“Everyone is concerned about food and food safety … . As a public scientist at a public university, part of my job is to educate.”
McHughen’s situation is typical of the volatility of the GM debate.
After flax growers complained about the samples earlier this summer, worried that Europeans might get the idea Canadian flax contained GM material, McHughen agreed to sterilize the seeds so they could not produce plants. The head of the Crop Development Centre asked him to stop distributing the samples altogether, but McHughen only agreed to sterilize the seeds, seeing no scientific basis for more extreme measures.
Market anxiety
But flax growers’ anticipation of potential public fears in Europe have led some to accuse McHughen of being a “maverick,” and endangering the health of the prairie flax industry.
McHughen is not unaware of the debate over GM crops.
He has just written a book, Pandora’s Picnic Basket: The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods, and is setting out on a North American tour to promote it.
The book attempts to explain genetic engineering and discuss the impact of GM foods. He concludes that GM foods are as safe as conventional foods and should be accepted.
He recently chaired an international biosafety meeting in Saskatoon, including a session in which the public was invited to challenge the scientific community.
Later he went outside to directly debate anti-GM activists.
He said he did this to open communication between the public and scientists, and to ensure that members of the public understood the science.
“I am in a public situation here and am supposed to provide information to the public and correct misinformation.
“Some people don’t like that and are going to attack me with ad hominem or personal attacks, and I guess I just have to deal with that,” said McHughen.
Opposition expected
There does appear to be a whisper campaign against McHughen. The week before the international conference, The Western Producer received a faxed copy of the scientist’s resume. On it someone had highlighted research funding he had received from various government agencies and private companies.
They also marked his flax patents and wondered “how much $ expected if marketed.”
Being accused of being an arrogant scientist who doesn’t listen to public concerns is not a pleasant send-off for his book tour.
But McHughen said he expected to be targeted because of his support for GM crops.
“If this is all they can point to, a few seeds in an envelope, then I think I’m doing OK,” said McHughen.
