Getting farmers and consumers involved early in the development of new genetically engineering crops could ease public concern about the controversial technology, says a University of Guelph food science professor.
“Bring them in right at the start,” Rickey Yada said in an interview after a presentation to the Commons agriculture committee earlier this week. “Don’t wait until you’ve developed the technology and want to put it on the market.”
The recommendation applies to private companies and university researchers, he added. Unless a GE variety “meets the regulatory requirements and consumer expectations, it’s just a science project.” The best way to ensure success is to make sure farmers and consumers understand and want what ever the new variety offers, he noted.
The committee has started a study on the state of the agriculture biotechnology industry in Canada that will continue when Parliament returns from the Christmas break. The committee is looking into whether the federal GE approval process requires changes to assure consumers in Canada and abroad that the food supply is safe.
Ian Mauro, a University of Victoria researcher who did a doctorate on the effect of GE crops on Prairie farmers, said GE offers benefits for growers in terms of lower production costs as well as risks in terms of the spread of GE traits into traditional plants.
He said 83 per cent of western farmers are opposed to the introduction of GE wheat or alfalfa because of the probable loss of foreign markets. They also worry about the dominance of large multinationals of seed production.
The federal approval process for GE varieties should include provisions that look at their influence on exports, he continued. There would be no benefit for farmers if a new GE variety causes Canada to be shut out of overseas countries, he said.
“We can grow GE crops safely but the regulations must evolve to recognize the social impacts of biotechnology,” he added. That would include the market impact of new varieties.
Gord Surgenor, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, told MPs that GE plants have been grown for 15 years in Canada. “There are no validated cases of harm caused to either humans or the environment. However, there have been significant benefits in terms of less tillage and reduced pesticide spraying.
He suggested the approval process look at the potential benefits of a new GE variety instead just the risks. “In today’s regulatory system, products such as wheat, milk soybeans, peanuts and tree nuts would probably not have been registered because of potential health risks.”
Yada said neither farmers not consumers fully understand the reason the technology has become popular with many growers. As well, consumers aren’t aware of the potential health benefits such as lower levels of salt and trans fats of newer GE varieties.
In Canada, developers of GE crops must have the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to conduct field trials of a new variety. It must be approved under Health Canada’s Novel Foods Regulations before it can be used.
Currently about 85 per cent of canola, 70 per cent of soybeans and 50 per cent of corn grown in Canada is a GE variety.