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Canada may soon allow transgenic wheat (Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- Globe and Mail via Agnet:
Canada soon could, according to these stories, become the first country to
allow farmers to grow genetically modified wheat, ending the grain's status
as the only major crop that has not been subject to genetic engineering.
The stories explain that Monsanto Canada, a biotechnology company, applied
to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency during the Christmas week to permit
the release of wheat it genetically manipulated to make it tolerant of the
company's Roundup brand of herbicide. It also seeks approval to feed the
modified wheat to livestock.
A separate review on the safety of the company's genetically modified wheat
-- used for products ranging from bread to pastries and noodles -- is before
Health Canada.
The applications are the last major step before the full commercial
production of genetically modified wheat, which could grow in fields as
early as next year or 2005, if federal regulators find no safety concerns.
Stephen Yarrow, director of the plant biosafety office at the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency in Ottawa, was quoted as saying, "This assumes that
everything is okay."
Mr. Yarrow was further cited as saying that Canada could become the first
country to allow genetically modified wheat, although Monsanto applied for
approval from U.S. authorities when it approached Canadian regulators.
Monsanto officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Trish Jordan, a Monsanto spokeswoman, was cited as saying it will probably
be years before the wheat, engineered to tolerate high doses of the
company's pesticide Round Up, sees commercial use, adding, "While regulatory
approval will certainly provide an important level of confidence across the
wheat industry, it doesn't mean we're going to be ready to introduce the
product."
Holly Penfound of the environmental group Greenpeace was quoted as saying,
"There's no good reason to release this crop. Nobody wants it except
Monsanto."
Penfound says Monsanto's assurances about being able to keep its wheat
separate from regular wheat are unconvincing.
Besides, it shouldn't be up to a multinational company to make a decision on
such an important issue, she said.
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