Introduction of the controversial “terminator seed” technology to Canadian fields or even laboratories is not on the horizon, government regulators and industry officials agreed last week.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency plant biosafety director Stephen Yarrow said no applications for greenhouse or field testing have yet been made in Canada for genetic use restriction technologies, parts of which have been dubbed terminator technology by critics because it would produce sterile seeds.
Yarrow told a House of Commons agriculture committee hearing that GURT is a long way off if it ever happens.
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“Given the complexity of this technology and the length of time it would take for a product to fulfil regulatory requirements, the CFIA does not expect to see a proposal for potential authorization for any plants with GURT traits in the near future,” he told MPs.
German genetic scientist and GURT skeptic Ricarda Steinbrecher said that is the case around the world.
“There is no greenhouse trial data from anywhere, not just Canada,” she said.
Because there are no plants and no experience, it is difficult to be precise about the dangers, she said.
But Steinbrecher said there are enough potential problems, including a danger that it could spread to other plant species inadvertently, that there should be no field trials until more information about safety is known.
“If terminator technology does not go right, that means if it goes wrong it will go wrong in quite a number of cases and then there is a serious problem,” she said.
In rebuttal, CropLife Canada plant biotechnology executive director Denise Dewar said that while regulators are correct to proceed with caution, testing should go on.
She said it is simply another product of genetic modification that some farmers could find useful, but it will not take over the world nor invade developing world crops and make it impossible for farmers to save their seed.
“As with all agricultural inputs, if varieties with this technology do not provide a significant financial benefit, farmers will remain free to use varieties that do not contain GURTs and free to use farm-saved seed as appropriate and allowed under local customs and laws,” she said.
Yarrow said Canada has signed an international convention on biological diversity that it interprets as a requirement to move cautiously but it also allows testing to get more information about potential and safety.
“These recommendations are to proceed cautiously on a case-by-case basis, using science to guide all these decisions,” he said. “Let me assure the committee that no use will be made of GURTs in Canada until such technologies have been demonstrated to be safe for humans, animals and the environment.”
GURT opponents said the international treaty actually calls for a moratorium and Canada’s interpretation shows that it supports GURT.
Yarrow said the role of CFIA is neither to promote nor oppose GURT but to make sure “Canada has a strong and effective regulatory system” to assess and manage risks if terminator seeds ever hit the market or the laboratory.
