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Identifying genetically modified products

Broadcast Date: March 6, 2002

In Europe, a shopper walking into a supermarket can tell which foods have been genetically modified. Yet as seen in this report from CBC's Marketplace, no such labelling law exists in Canada despite numerous surveys indicating up to 90 per cent of Canadians want mandatory labelling of GM food. Canada's leading national consumer group does not support mandatory labelling. Instead, the Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC) supports voluntary labelling, backing the stance of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

CFIA, the government department responsible for food labelling, insists mandatory labelling is meaningless because there's no guarantee conventional crops are free of their GM counterparts. The CAC and CFIA both agree that voluntary labelling is the only option at the moment. Critics such as Bradford Duplessis, researcher for the Canadian Health Coalition, accuse the CAC of being lapdogs rather than watchdogs of the federal government and the biotech industry. The CAC defends itself by saying it is allying with government and industry to get information out to consumers.

Identifying genetically modified products

• Currently, GM food does not require mandatory labelling in Canada (2005).
• GM food opponents, such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club of Canada, say the resistance to mandatory labelling is due to Canadian government supporting and funding the biotech industry. They argue that the Canadian government is reluctant to label GM food, an industry they actively back, for fear of consumer backlash.

• In October 2001, Liberal MP Charles Caccia put forward a private member's bill calling for mandatory labelling of GM food. Despite Health Minister Allan Rock's support of mandatory labelling, the bill was defeated in Parliament by a vote of 126 to 91.
• A 2002 study prepared by the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, which includes federally appointed members, recommended that mandatory labeling should be adopted, only if voluntary standards don't work.

• The study, Improving the Regulation of Genetically Modified Foods and other Novel Foods in Canada, agreed that long-term monitoring is essential, suggesting the appointment of a chief safety officer to oversee the safety of GM food in Canada. The safety officer would address the conflicting roles of the federal government. Currently the same department is responsible for both promoting and regulating Canada's biotech industry.

Identifying genetically modified products

Medium: Television

Program: Marketplace

Broadcast Date: March 6, 2002

Guest(s): Bart Bilmer, Bruce Cran, Bradford Dupliser, Julian Edwards, Jenny Hillard

Host: Jacquie Perrin
Reporter: Jim Nunn

Duration: 09:25

Last updated:
May 27, 2008