Canola is only the tip of the iceberg
-Friday, July 7, 2000
This Opinion was featured in the July 7, 2000 issue of the the The Western Producer
That the impurity of Canadian grown canola seed imported into the UK has made headline news in Britain must be an embarrassment for many Western Canadian canola producers.
Calls have been made for the resignation of the minister of agriculture, for the destruction of the contaminated crops and for restrictions on the sale of produce grown on the land for three years. The British government, to its credit, has defended itself robustly. It has been adamant in its claim that the sterile GM content presents no material environmental or food safety risk.
Most of the British public, however, do not see it this way and are not prepared to take any risk.
Production of GM crops in Britain is limited, by a voluntary agreement between government and industry to field-scale environmental trials. Even these closely monitored experiments are opposed by activist who are doing every thing they can to stop them.
It is, however, becoming increasingly apparent that the Canadian canola is just the tip of an iceberg. Those knowledgeable were not surprised by the news. And the European Seed Association has since admitted to widespread GM content in European maize crops.
The first hint of a problem came from Malcolm Walker, chief executive of Iceland Foods and a long time Greenpeace supporter. In giving evidence in support of 28 Greenpeace members on trial for trashing a forage maize trial last July and charged with criminal damage and theft, he said contamination makes it almost biologically impossible for food to be guaranteed free of GM content.
Iceland Foods, a supermarket chain, is the self-proclaimed leader in GM-free retail promotion which has probably done much to sustain the opposition.
This evidence was given just days before the seed company which imported the Canadian canola warned the British government about the GM content on April 17.
Timing may also have been important in other contexts. Opinion polls have indicated that both the government's science-based policy on genetic engineering is unpopular and the government support is slipping as it approaches a general election. An element of political risk, in terms of a yet more restrictive but widely popular policy, was therefore becoming increasingly evident in patiently waiting for the outcome of the environmental trials.
Further, while the anti-GM activists' campaign was beginning to appear tired, concern exists as to how the trials this summer can be defended from vandalism.
At one extreme, the knowledge of this escape of GM material into the environment could result in the acceptance of the futility of trying to keep Britain GM-free. At the other, it could result in the technology being shelved indefinitely.
Something between the two extremes is likely. The hope is that every time the issue hits the headlines, a little understanding rubs off.
The achievements of the Canadian canola industry are something that the British oilseed rape industry aspires to. While the GM contamination is not excusable or something that might have been expected from Canada, it is likely to be soon forgotten in what will continue to be a fast- moving story.
top of page