Genetically modified wheat will not be allowed onto the Canadian market until the market is ready for it, even if it passes normal health and safety tests, agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief vowed last week.
In an Oct. 24 interview, the minister said Ottawa is working with industry to create a “new step” in the process of bringing new varieties to market, a step that recognizes such issues as consumer attitudes and potential market impact.
The formal registration process still would be science-based and look at health, safety and agronomic issues, he said.
Read Also
Alberta crop diversification centres receive funding
$5.2 million of provincial funding pumped into crop diversity research centres
“But we also have to recognize that there are concerns about some GM products, such as wheat, as far as commercialization goes,” he said.
“We need another step in the process to deal with that.”
Vanclief said it is his goal and intention to have this new step in place before Monsanto’s GM wheat variety, now in the registration process, is ready for market.
Vanclief’s comments come after a concerted lobby by the Canadian Wheat Board to have market acceptance included in the registration criteria, since most of its customers have said they will not buy Canadian wheat if it might contain GM.
The left-leaning Council of Canadians has been waging a national lobby campaign against approval of GM wheat.
On his Saskatchewan farm, CWB chair Ken Ritter said he was thrilled by the minister’s comments.
“He has talked in the past about looking at the issue but also has stressed that the process must remain science based,” Ritter said.
“He hadn’t really shown his hand. I think this goes further in recognizing that we can’t deal with this product if the market is not willing to accept it.”
At Grain Growers of Canada, executive director Cam Dahl said his group continues to be uneasy about any prospect that political considerations will enter the variety registration process.
But he said an industry proposal that would keep post-registration marketing decisions voluntary and industry driven but market sensitive still is in the running to be Vanclief’s new step.
CGC has proposed that an industry committee be struck to look at issues such as market sensitivities, regulatory controversies or segregation needs for any potentially controversial variety.
The final decision would be left to the creator of the new variety “but there would be a lot of moral suasion if market problems were clearly identified.”
Vanclief said any process to deal with controversial non-science angles to new variety introduction must not be voluntary.
In the House of Commons, Vanclief offered the same assurance to former environment minister and GMO skeptic Charles Caccia. Vanclief said science and safety are the first lines of inquiry in reviewing products of biotechnology but in cases like GM wheat, other steps are needed.
“We are discussing the implementation of another step in the process with the industry, the provinces and everyone in order to recognize the concerns that are out there before any product is commercialized, even if it did pass all the safety tests,” said Vanclief.
“That step needs to be put in place and we are working toward doing that.”
Afterwards, Caccia chuckled as he recalled in an interview Vanclief’s opposition several years ago to mandatory GM labelling, arguing at the time that consumer attitudes could not play a part in a science-based regulatory system.
“He certainly has moved in the past couple of years,” the veteran Liberal Toronto MP said.
“He definitely has had a change in attitude. Let’s wait and see how it finally is reflected in policy.”
Vanclief said the change in attitude came simply because of changing industry attitudes and evidence of potential problems.
