An article published in 2014 quotes Cereals Canada president Cam Dahl saying, “Cereals Canada’s support for GM wheat is consistent with the policy of its member associations, which includes the Grain Growers, miller’s association and life science companies.”

Following a GM wheat contamination incident in Oregon in 2014, Cereals Canada also signed on to a statement in support of further investment in, and commercialization of genetically modified wheat. Cereals Canada supported an irresponsible policy then, and it hasn’t learned anything from Canada losing important markets now.

Escapes of genetically engineered plants and resulting market disruptions were predicted by the National Farmers Union 15 years ago and were a major reason for our opposition. Japan, which was the highest-priced market when the Canadian Wheat Board was marketing Canadian wheat, has stopped all shipments.

In June 2003 an NFU media release highlighted the unacceptable risks of GM wheat, calling it BSE for Grain Farmers:

“Canadian cattle producers are experiencing the devastating consequences of border closures and market losses that have resulted from BSE. At the same time, however, the Canadian government is considering the approval of the grain system equivalent of BSE: genetically modified wheat.”

Rather than recognize that its blind support of GM wheat has helped create today’s problem, Cereals Canada and its members were quick to revert to the “it’s all safe” biotech industry mantra.

And therein lies one of the central problems with Cereals Canada — on this issue, and many others, some of its board members are in a conflict of interest. For a so-called life science company, passing up an opportunity to sell more chemicals or seed would contradict its company’s interests.

There is no question that the policies of Cereals Canada members such as the Western Canadian Wheat Growers and Grain Growers of Canada helped provide Monsanto and the government the cover they needed to seed experimental plots of GM wheat at secret and undisclosed locations 15 years ago, over the strongest objections.

And Cereals Canada has worked against the interests of farmers on other issues, as well. By continually undermining the Canadian Grain Commission, and calling for U.S. grain to freely enter Canada and be commingled with Canadian grain, Cereals Canada promotes other irresponsible policies.

Cereals Canada has recently embarked on a plan to merge with/take over the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi). The farmer checkoff money that helps support Cigi makes Cigi a target that is just too good to pass up.

However, with the mission statement, “to be the trusted independent source for milling, quality and end-use functionality expertise for millers and end-users of Canadian grain to increase market opportunities and end-user success,” Cigi does incredibly important work on behalf of Canadian farmers and it would be extremely damaging to have Cigi taking the same irresponsible policy positions.

Given its track record, Cereals Canada has no right to a merger or takeover of the Cigi.

Stewart Wells was president of the National Farmers Union from 2001 to 2009.

The post Cereals Canada’s irresponsible GM wheat policy appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The American National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates are lobbying the U.S. government to help them export more wheat to Canada. They claim Canada’s grain grading system is a barrier, so they are asking President Trump to put pressure on Canada. It is not surprising that in Canada, the corporate-backed wheat lobby groups — Cereals Canada and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers — as well as the Western Grain Elevator Association which represents the grain trade, are on side with NAWG and U.S. Wheat Associates too.

• Read more: MacAulay not saying if he’ll fix U.S. wheat-grading irritant
• Read more: Grain sector wants to keep wheat off Trump’s hit list

These lobby groups want to change the Canada Grains Act to allow American grain access to our wheat grading system or else to get rid of the grading system altogether so that companies buy on specifications instead. Both options would help the multinational grain companies and harm farmers.

But first, let’s get one thing straight: Canadian millers can already bring in as much U.S.-grown wheat as they choose. No limits. Bringing in large amounts of U.S.-grown wheat would mean mixing that grain with Canadian-grown product and moving it through the already-stressed Canadian export system. Shady marketing will sell this grain as “Canadian origin” which would give corporate profit a short-term boost — until the world recognized that this grain is not really the superior or unique Canadian wheat they were expecting. In short, our much-diminished Canadian market power would suffer another serious blow.

The idea that the U.S. is missing out on the Canadian market makes no sense either. The U.S. and Canada are two of the world’s largest wheat exporters. In 2016, the wheat Canada imported was less than one per cent of our exports.

Our international reputation for quality wheat didn’t just happen. It was built by Canadian farmers and governments who knew that strict quality control measures are needed to obtain premium prices on the world market.

The wheat-growing areas of Ukraine, the U.S. and Australia are much closer to ports. Our quality standards allow us to obtain higher prices which compensate for the cost of moving grain from the Prairies to port. Our system, of which the Canadian Grain Commission is a key component, adds about $70 per tonne to the farmers’ price. Most years, Canadian farmers produce around 25 million tonnes of wheat, so our system adds $1.75 billion to Canada’s economy every year.

What else is at stake if our government caves in to these lobby groups?

Allowing grain companies to mix American wheat with Canadian-grown wheat would give U.S. wheat a free ride on the seed-to-port-terminal quality control system we have developed over the past century, and which the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) oversees in the interests of Canadian farmers.

Canada’s grading system ensures farmers have recourse to an independent arbiter, the CGC, if we think our grain has been unfairly discounted by the elevator. The CGC’s official grain grading guide provides transparent standards for the grading of grains, oilseeds and pulses. If Canada were to dismantle our grain grading system altogether, Canadian farmers would have no choice but to sell via individual contracts with grain buyers. The buyer would then have all the power and farmers would have no recourse if their grain was unfairly discounted or rejected.

The multinational grain traders — ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Viterra and Richardson International — are connected to the lobby pushing for U.S. access to Canada’s system. These companies stand to gain millions, if not billions, in additional profits by disabling the CGC. The grain trade would then be in position to take an even greater share of farmers’ wealth with impunity.

Farmers need to call upon our federal and provincial agriculture ministers as well as our provincial wheat commissions to stand firm and uphold the CGC and our grading system in the interests of farmers, our rural economies and Canada as a whole.

Stewart Wells is a grain farmer from southwestern Saskatchewan and a former president of the National Farmers Union.

The post Stand up for our grain grading system appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.