Groups turn to province in RR alfalfa fight
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
by SUSAN MANN
Ontario farmers and groups supporting a request for a provincial environmental assessment of genetically modified alfalfa hope it will end up halting the product’s release.
Eastern Ontario organic farmer Dianne Dowling and Dave Lewington, who has a mixed farm near Sudbury, are the two farmers who filed a request on July 25 with the Ontario Environmental Commissioner under the province’s Environmental Bill of Rights asking for an assessment of genetically modified alfalfa before it’s sold here. Dowling is participating in the assessment request because the process “requires that two citizens of Ontario make the application.”
“But I feel like I’m doing it on behalf of organic farmers across Ontario and conventional farmers who don’t use GE (genetically engineered) crops,” she says.
Government protocol requires the Environmental Commissioner’s office to review the request before it is forwarded to the ministry. Lindsay Davidson, Ontario Environment Ministry spokesperson, says by email the ministry has received the request and is now reviewing it.
The product the farmers and groups are concerned about is Roundup Ready alfalfa, also called genetically modified or genetically engineered alfalfa. It can withstand the application of Roundup herbicide so farmers can suppress or control weeds with the herbicide in their alfalfa.
Kate Jordan, also an Ontario Environment Ministry spokesperson, says this is the first time they have received a request for a provincial environmental assessment related to a federally regulated crop.
Dowling says their goal is to prevent genetically modified alfalfa from being released and sold in Ontario. Since alfalfa is a perennial, the release and sale of the genetically modified version is different than the sale and use of genetically modified corn, soybeans or canola.
“The perennial nature of alfalfa makes this a completely different situation,” she says. Perennial plants are pollinated by insects that don’t observe fence lines. “We feel that there’s a very real risk of contaminating” nearby farm operations that don’t grow genetically modified alfalfa. She notes that such contamination would invalidate an organic farmer’s certification.
Lucy Sharratt, coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, says the request for a review was supported and prepared by the Network, the National Farmers Union – Ontario, the Organic Agricultural Protection Fund, others in the broader Ontario environmental community, and farmers growing conventional or organic crops.
Genetically modified alfalfa was approved by Canadian regulatory authorities in 2005 for growing and eating but it wasn’t until this spring that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency registered a GM variety.
The CFIA says on its website that a wholly owned subsidiary of Forage Genetics International, Gold Medal Seeds Inc., obtained registration for the variety in April. That registration enables the engineered alfalfa seed to be commercially sold in Canada.
Mike Peterson, lead – global traits for Forage Genetics International, says by email they haven’t been contacted by the Ontario government about a new environmental assessment so they don’t have a comment about it. But Roundup Ready alfalfa has already undergone an extensive review by Canadian regulatory authorities, he writes. Federal agencies responsible for ensuring the food, feed and environmental safety of plants with novel traits found that Roundup Ready “alfalfa can be safely and responsibly introduced into the Canadian marketplace.”
He adds that the federal agencies did a thorough assessment of the benefits and environmental impacts of Roundup Ready alfalfa.
The Ontario review, if there is one, will look at the engineered alfalfa’s environmental and economic impacts. The federal government regulatory process for approving the alfalfa doesn’t protect Canadians well enough “because they don’t assess social or economic impact,” Dowling says. With the potential Ontario review assessing the economic impact, “we’re tying social and agricultural practice considerations into it as well.”
Sharratt says if an environmental assessment goes ahead it would enable the Ontario government to hear from farmers and others “who know how contamination will happen and what it will mean to Ontario’s environment and economy. The federal government hasn’t looked at that.”
The CFIA says in a notice on its website the environmental safety assessment it did found that variety is as safe for the environment as conventional alfalfa. The same conclusion was reached for its effect on bees, other insects or other plants. In addition, the livestock feed safety assessment determined that “Roundup Ready alfalfa is nutritionally equivalent to conventional alfalfa and similar to commercial varieties grown in North America,” the notice says.
The notice also says CFIA’s analysis showed no new toxins or allergens were present. Health Canada did a similar analysis and found that food from Roundup Ready alfalfa “is as safe as food from conventional alfalfa,” the notice says.
Sharratt says using Roundup Ready alfalfa in Ontario will lead to increased use of glyphosate, including Roundup, which will increase the risk in the province of glyphosate resistant weeds.
Does the environment ministry have the jurisdiction to do an assessment? Absolutely, says Sharratt, noting the release of Roundup Ready alfalfa is major new commercial activity. “The Ontario government has the mandate to assess the environmental impact of any new major commercial activity.”
Jordan says the environment ministry needs to look at what’s being asked in the request before she can say if they have jurisdiction to do the assessment. BF