Food fight over GMO risks
Broadcast Date: Oct. 11, 1999
Most Canadians have consumed genetically modified food at some time or another. According to the environmentalist in this CBC Television report, 75 per cent of the foods in Canadian supermarkets have been genetically modified. From crackers to corn to canola oil, as many as 30,000 items on our grocery shelves contain GM products.It's a reality that bothers consumers and environmentalists who question the long-term safety and environmental impact of genetic modification. But proponents, including farmers and many scientists, defend the technology, saying it decreases the use of pesticides while increasing food production necessary to feed the world's exploding population.
Food fight over GMO risks
• There are currently 51 GM foods which have been approved by Health Canada for marketing. These include varieties of flax, corn, potatoes, canola, soybean, sugar beet, tomatoes and squash (Health Canada 2005). Those 51 foods are used as ingredients in about 75 per cent of the products found in our supermarkets.• According to 2003 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science statistics, seven million farmers in 18 countries planted close to 68 million hectares with genetically modified crops. The six countries responsible for growing 99 per cent of the world's GM crops are:
— United States (63 per cent)
— Argentina (21 per cent)
— Canada (6 per cent)
— Brazil and China (four per cent each)
— South Africa (one per cent)
• Four main GM crops grown worldwide are soybean, corn, cotton and canola. Half of North America's soy crop is genetically modified.
• According to a 2004 report commissioned by the Council for Biotechnology Information, a North American pro-biotech group, Canada planted 4.4 million hectares of genetically modified canola, corn and soybean. Canada has conducted field trials on GM alfalfa, brown mustard, lentils, potatoes, sugar beets, tobacco and wheat.
• Eating organic food is one way to avoid genetically modified products. Certified organic products are free of genetic engineering. In Canada, organic certification is issued by independent organizations and not by the federal government.
• In 2000, the New Brunswick-based food giant McCain's announced it will no longer buy genetically altered potatoes grown by Canadian farmers.
Food fight over GMO risks
Medium: Television
Program: Broadcast 1
Broadcast Date: Oct. 11, 1999
Duration: 7:23
Last updated:
July 20, 2009
Television
9:25
Canada's leading consumer group says mandatory labelling of GM food is unnecessary.
Television
17:59
Canada's single largest crop is caught in a biotech battleground.
Food fight over GMO risks.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: July 20, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]