GM Foods: Corporate patenting of life.
By Louise Gulamhusein & Scott Nelson
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GM Foods: Corporate patenting of life. By Louise Gulamhusein & Scott Nelson |
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What is Genetic Modification (GM)? GM is using biological science technology to create life forms that have not previously existed. An example is crossing a tomato with a fish gene to create cold-resistant tomatoes that save money on heated winter storage. And the military want to splice spider genes with Angora goats to make lighter bullet proof vests. The most contentious GM technology was US chemical giant Monsanto Corp.’s “terminator gene” that produced sterile plants. Farmers would then be forced to buy new Monsanto-produced seeds every spring. Ten years ago there were no commercial GM crops. Today 60 per cent of Canadian canola is genetically modified. Canola finds its way into hundreds of products including breakfast cereals, cooking oils, fast food, candy, chocolate, ice dream and most prepared commodities. Two years ago GM soybeans made up less than two per cent of output. Today it is 25 per cent. Soybean is the most widely marketed non-animal protein. Monsanto, which made Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange, now grows soybeans that are resistant to the Monsanto-pesticide Roundup. |
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They insert Roundup-proof bacteria into soybeans so when farmers spray Roundup
only weeds die. Looks good on paper, but there is no way of preventing other
plants from cross pollinating with the resistant soybeans to produce super
weeds that need yet stronger pesticides. Monsanto says GM technology will increase the food supply for a hungry world. Environmental activists, however, claim GM only benefits corporate producers. They note that current world food production can provide everyone with a daily supply of two and a half pounds of grain, beans and nuts, one pound of meat, milk and eggs, and another of fruits and vegetables. People go hungry because of poverty and unequal distribution. GM crops are not a solution, but a threat to food security. The problem with GM foods Bringing alien species into new ecosystems has caused disruption and extinction of localized species. Best known examples are the introduction of rabbits in Australia and the zebra mussel in the Great Lakes. GM technology presents implications that are just as serious. The University of California’s Dr. Norman Ellstrand is a leading authority on genetic engineering. “In Europe, there is already a big problem with gene flow between wild and cultivated beet. Oil-seed rape (canola) also has close relatives and is going to cause problems in the future. One would expect that the kind of genes that are now being engineered are going to be the ones that have a higher potentiality for causing trouble.” According to Ellstrand, pollen can transfer GM traits such as herbicide and pest resistance to wild plants. Opposition Grows Following Britain’s mad cow disease crises, public pressure forced retailers to phase out GM products and implement labeling. British retailers now post signs identifying GM products. Restaurants do the same on menus. A de facto European Union moratorium on new GM organisms is expected to last until at least 2002. Japan also imposed GM labeling, as did South Korea. In August the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Council announced that they too would “require mandatory labeling of all food which is known to, or may contain, genetically modified organisms.” An immediate result of massive public pressure was this November’s announcement by Monsanto that it will abandon its “terminator” technology. What’s happening here? Only Canadians who grow food in their own backyards from organic seeds know what they are putting into their bodies. Canada has no labeling requirements for GM foods. Agriculture Canada brochures even tout “the nutritional quality” of GM foods. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for inspection and monitoring of foods. CFIA argues there is no way of distinguishing genetically engineered products, and labeling could promote fear in consumers. CFIA relies instead on voluntary labeling by companies. BC supermarket chains IGA, Safeway, Save On Foods and Overwaitea were unwilling to comment on their GM policies when contacted by SPEC. They would only say they are complying with all existing regulations. Meanwhile pressure is mounting for an outright ban on GM production. New Brunswick-based McCain’s Foods said on Nov. 29 it will no longer buy GM potatoes. McCain’s boss Harrison McCain admitted consumer pressure was the main factor in his decision. SPEC has now joined environmental groups including Greenpeace and the Sierra Club to campaign for a moratorium on environmental releases of GM crops, and for independent testing and mandatory labeling.
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