Genetically modified food Archives | Manitoba Co-operator

Golden Rice grain compared to white rice grain in screenhouse of Golden Rice plants.

Philippines approves genetically modified rice

Critics say ‘Golden Rice’ hasn’t received adequate scrutiny on safety and nutrition

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff January 13, 2020

The Philippines has approved genetically modified “Golden Rice” for human consumption, but its approval may be premature, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network said in a news release Dec. 20. The country hasn’t approved the crop for cultivation, but if it does, the grain could be the first genetically modified rice grown in the world, the

Comment, Farmit Manitoba, Opinion

Comment: The dark side of the Non-GMO Project

Critics say this effort has gone awry and is now firmly in the realm of ‘absence claim abuse’

By Sylvain Charlebois September 20, 2019

Most consumers have seen the Non-GMO logos on bread and many other food products while shopping at the grocery store. Today in North America, the Non-GMO Project Verified logo is on over 50,000 food products that bring in more than US$30 billion in retail sales. The green leaves and the orange butterfly are literally everywhere

Crops

What’s CBAN’s stand on GM?

Its website claims there’s no scientific proof GM is safe. Health Canada begs to differ

By Allan Dawson April 10, 2019

If the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) isn’t anti-GMO, it’s certainly not an advocate of the technology. “There is no scientific basis to conclude that GM foods are safe,” CBAN’s website says. “Research continues to raise serious questions about potential health hazards and more study is needed. The risks from eating GM foods have not

Crops, News

Canada signatory to biotechnology support statement

Twenty-eight countries support the call for minimizing trade disruption related to biotech crops

By Alex Binkley November 20, 2018

Agri-food groups are welcoming Canada’s work in formulating an international statement supporting biotechnology and regulatory agreements that support the technology and minimize trade disruptions. “Growers are excited about the potential of new plant-breeding innovations,” said Jeff Nielsen, president of Grain Growers of Canada. “We look forward to also seeing progress here at home.” New tools

No matter the type of plant breeding used over the last 10,000 years, the goal has always been the same – genetic improvement.

Opinion

Opinion: Clarifying ‘What’s in a name?’

By Sandi Knight May 1, 2018

Science has always led the way in agriculture, and continues to do so today. Yet advances in plant breeding are being met with skepticism, fear and vehement opposition by many consumers. Perhaps we aren’t listening closely enough to their concerns. Because we understand the science, we assumed they would too. We’ve failed in telling our

Crops, Opinion

Opinion: Attacks against GMOs? Why I take it personally

By Andrew Campbell June 26, 2017

I’m a farmer who likes to scroll through Twitter. Not long ago, a tweet popped up from a Manitoba farmer criticizing a local cheese maker for pasting Non-GMO Project Verified labels on some products. It started a conversation that I’ve seen a hundred times online: Should companies be able to market whatever and however they

Editorial, Opinion

Editorial: The nothing strategy

By Laura Rance July 21, 2016

This week, President Obama is expected to sign legislation that will require labels on foods produced using ingredients from genetically modified crops — a notion many in food and farming circles once considered unthinkable. That is, until they were confronted with the potential for something much worse — multiple labelling laws. In the absence of

Quebec MP Pierre Dusseault is calling for mandatory labelling of GM content in food products.

News

NDP MP introduces GMO labelling bill

MP Pierre Dusseault says Canadians deserve to be able to make informed choices about what they’re eating

By Alex Binkley July 12, 2016

GMO labelling may be back on the parliamentary menu if Quebec NDP MP Pierre Dusseault can convince colleagues to support his private member’s bill. It won’t be debated until next fall at the earliest — if at all — but he will get to test his arguments when the Commons agriculture committee begins a study

Jesus Madrazo, Monsanto’s vice-president of global corporate engagement, says “digital” agriculture could catch on with farmers just as quickly as GM crops did.

Crops, Local news

Digital agriculture the next big thing, says Monsanto official

Farmers adopted GM crops faster than the company expected  and the same could occur with precision farming

By Allan Dawson May 3, 2016

If you want some idea of how quickly digital agriculture could grow, take a look at what happened with GM crops. Monsanto never expected genetically modified crops to catch on as quickly as they did and one company insider says the same explosive growth could happen with data-driven farming. Instead of a measured and evolutionary

Crops

Monsanto talking to consumers, not just farmers

By Allan Dawson May 3, 2016

Monsanto, long a lightening rod for opponents of genetically modified (GM) crops, is reaching out to consumers to tell its side of the story. It’s also encouraging farmers to do the same, Jesus Madrazo, Monsanto’s vice-president of global corporate engagement told the Canadian Global Crops Symposium in Winnipeg April 12. “I would be the first

Prairie livestock vet named B.C.’s chief veterinarian

U.S. livestock: Hog futures weaken, cattle futures advance

Beef Breeds Council becomes arm of CCA

GFM Network News