Canadian and European consumers and farmers seeking protection from contamination from genetically modified crops took two bold steps in early August, 2001.
In Canada environmentalists, consumers, and farm groups stepped forward to demand the the government not approve the commercial release of Monsanto Corporation's genetically modified herbicide resistant Roundup Ready wheat.
"This is an inadequately tested experiment that has no place contaminating our farms and food," Environmental News Network reporteed Holly Penfound, a member of Greenpeace Canada
http://www.greenpeacecanada.org , telling a Canadian news conference. "Our government should be calling the shots, not the big biotech companies pushing GM wheat into the market," said Penfound who is Greenpeace's environmental health coordinator.
According to the ENN
http://www.enn.com report Monsanto had planted test plots of the new wheat variety at secret locations in Canada during the spring of 2001. The U.S. based company planned to release the variety for either the 2002 or 2003 planting seasons. The Canadian coalition hopes to convince the federal government to halt the approval of the genetically modified wheat variety.
"This is just really very powerful technology, and it's got a lot of potential, but it's misapplied in this case. It's not something farmers want," ENN reported Bill Toews, a grain farmer from Kane, Manitoba, as saying.
Canada is both one of the world's largest wheat producers as well as one of the world's largest wheat exporters. Importers of wheat, such as European and Asian countries, are increasingly demanding certified GMO free commodities such as wheat, corn, and soybeans.
In Britain the Friends of the Earth
http://www.foe.co.uk are announcing the death knell for all GMO crops thanks to continued pressure on European governments by environmentalists and consumers.
Their optimistic projection is based upon a proposal by the European Union to dramatically increase separation distances required between fields of GMO crops and fields of non-GMO crops. The intended purpose of the increased separation distances is to assure that non GMO seed has a 0.3% to 0.5% contamination level and food products have no more than a one per-cent contamination level.
The separation distances, which are only proposals at present, will make it impractical for a farmer to grow GMO and non-GMO crops in adjacent fields, according to FoE.
"For example, for basic oilseed rape seed production, the proposed separation distance is five kilometres from GM crops - requiring a huge exclusion zone around all GM oilseed rape," FoE wrote in an August 2nd report.
Commenting for Friends of the Earth, GM Campaigner Carol Kearney said: These new proposals should sound the death knell for GM farming in the UK. The new proposals in practice will mean a choice between a GM-free future for farming, or GM-only seed and food. The seed industry knows what UK consumers want and expect. A GM-free future is the only real option they face.
