| Posted by Winnipeg Chapter on June 15, 2010 at 4:57 PM |
The Council of Canadians has been vigilant on the potential problems with genetically modified crops. Actually the issues are bigger than GMOs. Should any foodstuff be put on the market before the precautionary principle has been fully considered? Corporations, whose main goal is to satisfy shareholders, ought not to be allowed to foist short-term tried materials on the world.
Many issues are arising. At least seventeen weeds are developing immunization to the glyphosate in Roundup. This means that farmers, for example, will have to spray several times to kill the weeds in their crops. Roundup was supposed to cut back on spraying, but it appears that this hypothesis may be wrong.
The fact that some of Canada’s flax cannot be sold to some non-GMO countries because it contains some GM seed now banned in some countries in Europe raises another issue. Ought GM wheat and alfalfa to be approved if trade problems may ban Canada’s sales to non-GMO areas?
The Council of Canadians is justly concerned about terminator seeds that produce only one crop thus preventing farmers from savingseed from year to year. The overarching concern is that corporations don’t destroy the democratic power of governments to represent people.
Contributor: Barry Hammond, Council of Canadians – Winnipeg Chapter.
For more information, please check out these short video clips.
Dr. Robert Verkerk, GMO’s GAMBLING WITH OUR FOOD and FUTURE
“If we look at the health risks of GM on their own, they’re bad enough. If we look at the environmental risks of GM crops on their own, they’re bad enough. If we add to that the notion of allowing a very small number of corporations to control the food supply and to control the supply of seeds the whole concept of genetically modified crops is madness.”
Author Jeffrey Smith about GMOs – Risks and Solutions (excerpts)
“We have designed a campaign to end the genetic engineering of the food supply. Not by begging the government to do it for us, but by understanding that the consumers are at the top of the food chain.”
DOWNLOAD: How to avoid Genetically Engineered Food – A Greenpeace Shopper’s Guide