July 5, 2005 – The Quebec government should adopt, during the fall parliamentary session, a policy requiring the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to the daily The duty.
As Canadian and provincial environment ministers held a three-day meeting in Alberta, where GMO labeling was on the agenda, Quebec announced its intention to move forward.
Promised by the Liberal Party of Quebec during the last election campaign, in the spring of 2003, mandatory labeling of GMOs is one of the recommendations made last year by the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (CAPA). Among other things, it recommended that any product containing more than 0.9% GMO should be mentioned on the label, as established by the European Union.
However, the Quebec agri-food industry is fiercely opposed to mandatory labeling of GMOs, fearing that this policy will make Quebec products less attractive. This is why the government would be tempted to raise the threshold from which labeling would be compulsory to 5%.
Responsible for the GMO file for Greenpeace Canada, Eric Darier believes that there is a consensus in Quebec as to the relevance of adopting a policy harmonized with European standards. According to him, a threshold of 5% would be “bogus”, since the majority of products that contain GMOs actually contain less than 5%. “The important thing is to allow consumers to have all the information so that they can make informed choices,” he says.
The 5% threshold nevertheless seems reasonable to François Belzile, professor of plant genetics at Laval University in Quebec. “There must be a justification in terms of public health to oblige labeling and so far, the analyzes have shown no risk to human health,” he says. “You can’t start labeling every time there is a dust or a particle of something: you have to avoid falling into social activism. “
GMO studies: more transparency
On another note, the German justice recently ordered, at the request of Greenpeace, the Monsanto company to make public an internal study.1 involving a transgenic maize that she owns, MON 863. The study concluded that this maize, incorporated in the diet of rats for 90 days, had adverse effects on their health, such as smaller kidneys and more. white blood cells in the blood.
According to Mr. Darier, this is a victory in the name of the “fundamental right of the public to information”. Greenpeace has also called on the Canadian government to suspend the sale of MON 863 until independent, long-term studies have shown its safety.
Mr. Belzile does not agree. “This report, before having to be made public, had nevertheless been submitted to the European authorities, who examined it. They mostly concluded that there was nothing alarming about the results, ”he said. In fact, the European Food Safety Authority2 last year issued a favorable opinion on the product. For its part, Agriculture Canada – which also knows the conclusions of the study – has maintained the registration of MON 863.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. To access Monsanto’s full study (1140 pages) on MON 863: www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/sci_tech/prod_safety/fullratstudy.pdf [Consulté le 5 juillet 2005].
2. To read the position statements of the European Food Safety Authority, see www.efsa.eu.int/press_room/press_release/385_en.html and www.efsa.eu.int/press_room/press_release/669_en. html [Consultés le 5 juillet 2005].
