On Tuesday, Germany’s agriculture minister announced that the German government would be putting a ban on Monsanto’s MON 810, a breed of genetically engineered corn that is thus far the only GMO crop allowed to be planted in Germany.
The minister cited the reason for the decision being based on the fact that the corn poses a danger to the environment, despite the fact that the EU trade commission declared the product safe for human consumption. Rather than bowing to the orders of what is essentially a trade body, Germany has decided that the human health-related and environmental implications certainly outweigh the rights of Monsanto to an unregulated market in which to sell their products. Now Monsanto is considering taking Germany to court over that same EU trade commission ruling. Who gets to decide what the people of a country want? Is it the will of the people through their elected officials, or is it an unelected, unnaccountable trade body or corporation?
In Canada, the will of the people has even been ignored by their elected representatives. As I stated a while back, Canada is currently allowing several varieties of genetically engineered organisms to be sold and grown in the Canadian market. Unfortunately, we here at the New Resilient found it necessary to present the public with a resource to discover for themselves which items at their grocery store may contain genetically engineered organisms. Even then, it forces the consumer to blanket products simply because they contain “soy” or “corn” rather than their proper names, “MON 810″ or “BT sugar.”
While countries like Germany, France, Hungary, Poland and even places like Algeria are tightening regulations, even resorting to an outright ban on genetically engineered products for rational concerns, Canada refuses even to label the foods that contain these products, giving the consumer the so-called “choice” that is the toast of globalized capitalism. European Union countries now require food containing GMOs to be labelled as such to ensure that consumers are informed as to what they are allowing into their bodies. In 2002 the then Liberal government shot down bill C-287, a private member’s bill coming from a member of their own party that would have instituted the mandatory labelling of foods containing GMOs. Last year, a combination of Conservative and Liberal MPs struck down bill C-517 a private member’s bill by BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko once again calling for mandatory labelling of foods containing GMOs–including now-Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. Is it the cost, Mr. Ignatieff? Is it that Canadians don’t need to know what they eat–despite the fact companies are required to place nutritional contents on labels? Why not GMOs, if they are so safe?
I suppose “choice” is for corporations and not citizens–after all, consumers don’t know what is best for them. While consistent majorities of Canadians would like to see GMOs labelled, our government continues to stonewall necessary legislation to make this so. But don’t think our government will stop impeding the rights of Canadians in the case of genetically engineered foods–we’ve even made WTO trade complaints against European Union member countries for their strong restrictions and regulations! Canada would only launch trade proceedings if it were an issue of a missing market–not product safety.
When are we going to demand policies and governance from our elected officials in Canada that both mirror the will of the people and the common good? Germany seems to get it, and protecting our environment and personal health from massive contamination would certainly be a place to start.
“Frankenfood” image courtesy “Junk Science” at Phawker.
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How do we avoid gmo food products?
Glenn