New Canadian consumer Poll : 88% want labelling of GMOs

CBAN Press Release: New Poll Shows Canadians are Highly Concerned About GM Foods and Want Mandatory Labelling

September 29, 2015. Ottawa, ON. A national Ipsos Reid poll commissioned by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) reveals 88 per cent of Canadians want genetically modified (GM) foods labeled on grocery store shelves. Of the over 1000 Canadians polled, over half oppose genetically modifying crops and animals to produce food.

“Our poll shows that Canadians have a range of concerns about genetically modified foods,” said Lucy Sharratt of CBAN. “The vast majority of Canadians who want labelling just want to know what’s in the food they’re eating. Canadians are also concerned about safety, the environmental impacts and some have ethical concerns about genetically modifying plants and animals.”

The new poll comes as the world’s first GM food animal – a GM Atlantic salmon – is pending approval from Health Canada.

“45 per cent of Canadians polled said they definitely don’t want to eat the GM fish, but without labelling how can they make this choice?” asked Thibault Rehn of Vigilance OGM.

Health Canada does not test the safety of any GM foods, but relies on data from companies that want to sell GM products to Canadians. Most data from these studies is not available to the public. 

“Poll results revealed six in ten Canadians are not confident in government safety and the regulatory systems for GM foods. This is an election year and Canadians are asking for more research and greater transparency from the government,” says Sharratt.

Visit CBAN.ca /consumer poll 2015

Are GM foods better for consumers ? CBAN’s 3rd Report 2015

“Are GM crops better for consumers?”

The third report in GMO Inquiry 2015 is out! It tackles consumer concerns about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). After twenty years on the market, CBAN is investigating the impacts and risks of GMOs.
 
Genetically modified foods were allowed onto grocery store shelves in Canada without labels, without meaningful public debate, without government testing, and without long-term animal feeding studies. 

Are there consumer benefits to genetically modified foods? Are they safe to eat? Why aren’t they labeled? These are the three main questions you asked. Check out the new report for details!

Here is some of what the report concludes:
There is no scientific basis to conclude that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe. Research continues to raise serious questions about the potential health hazards and more study is needed. The risks from eating GM foods have not been fully investigated.

Releasing GMOs in our food system and environment remains an ongoing experiment, still in need of testing and evaluation. Click here to see the report summary pamphlet.

 

Labelling of Genetically Engineered Foods in Canada – Food – Canadian Food Inspection Agency

There have been three major consultations since 1993 in Canada on the labelling of novel foods derived from genetic engineering. Based on these consultations, a set of guidelines were developed. They reflect a general consensus to:require mandatory labelling if there is a health or safety concern, i.e., from allergens or a significant nutrient or compositional change (these decisions will be made by Health Canada), in order to inform consumers of the allergen or change,ensure labelling is understandable, truthful and not misleading,permit voluntary positive labelling on the condition that the claim is not misleading or deceptive and the claim itself is factual, and;permit voluntary negative labelling on the condition that the claim is not misleading or deceptive and the claim itself is factual.These principles are consistent with policy for all foods under the Food and Drugs Act.

Mandatory labelling for foods, including genetically engineered foods, can be required by Health Canada where there are health or safety concerns that could be mitigated through labelling, or to highlight a significant nutritional or compositional change.Voluntary labelling is permitted in order to provide consumers with information that is not related to the safety of the product.

To facilitate the use of such voluntary labelling, the Canadian government supported the development of a national standard to provide guidance on the voluntary labelling of products of genetic engineering.

Source: Labelling of Genetically Engineered Foods in Canada – Food – Canadian Food Inspection Agency

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Since 2005 , Canada  has a labelling act but it is VOLUNTARY. All that needs to be  changed is  ONE WORD

 Replace Voluntary with MANDATORY and our food safety is secured. 

Victory! World’s Largest Spice Company to Go Organic and Non-GMO by 2016! – Health Nut News

Signaling yet another victory for the clean food movement, the largest spice company in the world has announced it will be almost entirely organic and non-GMO by the year 2016.Because of the organic and non-GMO food boom, other companies such as Simply Organic have been able to grow thanks to the support of customers looking for cleaner options.

The McCormick spice company has maintained its spot as the world’s largest, however, and is now making a move that comes as a surprise to many in order to keep other companies from stealing its market share.McCormick to Officially Go Organic, GMO-Free SoonAccording to this article from the website Food Dive, the compay has announced that a huge majority of its spices and herbs will be organic and non-GMO by the year 2016.In total, about 80% of its products will meet the new standard. New labels will also adorn the familiar McCormick packages, with over 70% expected to sport new “non-GMO” labels according to the article.

Source: Victory! World’s Largest Spice Company to Go Organic and Non-GMO by 2016! – Health Nut News

March Against Monsanto | It’s Time To Take Our Planet Back

Dr. Don Huber: GMOs are a Dangerous Technology Based on “Fossil Science” By Nick Meyer On September 28, 2015 · inShare Opponents of the Organic and GMO Free movement (often industry linked) have attempted to discredit it by saying that it is not backed by sound science. But what most people don’t realize is that science itself has become big business, with the very corporations that stand to benefit from positive experiments oftentimes linked to the […] Read Full Article →

Source: March Against Monsanto | It’s Time To Take Our Planet Back

ELection questions ! FOOD MATTERS.

Every 4 yrs we get a chance to ask questions. Might not get an answer but at least the politicians will  listen to our concerns.

We need to ask our Federal Candidates about our FOOD. We work to buy food, we enjoy food, our bodies need food.Food cost is about 15-20% of our  disposal income.

Food Matters.!! GMO in our food matters as it changes the nature of the food we eat  causing unknown  effects in our body.

Here are a few questions I want answers to:

Canadians have a right to know what is in our food. Would you support  mandatory labelling of the Genetic Modified Organism in our food?

IF  elected, will you give Health Canada the resources and the mandate to conduct a comprehensive, independent, science-based assessment on the safety of genetically engineered foods?

Health Canada approved the GE apple in March 2015. We the consumers do not want it and it will tarnish  the reputation of our fruit industry on the international market.  If elected,will you require a re-assessment of  the benefits of commercialising the GE apple in Canada?

Linda Cheu

GE Free Comox Valley

Events / Take Action – GE Trees in the NW. ( GLobal Justice Ecology project)

The Growing Threat: A Speaking tour on Genetically Engineered Trees and the future of our forests

Speakers tour of the Pacific Northwest now includes Vancouver BC Oct 21 and on the island Oct 22.,2015

Featuring Dr Ricarda Steinbrecher, EcoNexus, UK.,  a molecular geneticist, who has testified as an expert witness on many of the world’s most exclusive stages. Other activists from Global Justice will also be speaking.

Wednesday October 21, 2015. 7:00-9:00PM, Unitarian Church, 949 W 49th Ave Vancouver.

Thursday October 22 – Details coming soon.Maybe in Courtenay !!

Genetically Engineered (GE) trees threaten the biodiversity of native forests, are false solutions to the climate change crisis and can have unpredictable and irreversible consequences. The Pacific Northwest is key as it hosts some of the leading global research on GE Trees. Join us on our tour about the dangers of GE Trees. Click here for more information on the tour.

Source: Events / Take Action – Canadian Biotechnology Action Network – CBAN

A new drummer in the orchestra says David Suzuki.

According to Geneticist David Suzuki, human beings are part of a “massive genetic experiment,”  and one is right to be concerned. Suzuki points out:

“One small mutation in a human being can determine so much, the point is when you move a gene, one gene, one tiny gene out of an organism into a different one you completely change its context. There is no way to predict how it’s going to behave and what the outcome will be. We think that we design these life forms, but it’s like taking the Toronto orchestra prepared to play a Beethoven symphony and then you take some random drummers from “here” and flip them in with the Toronto symphony and you say play music. What comes out is going to be something very very different. Publicists say that there is good intention behind GMOs, but the fact of the matter is it’s driven by money.”

Until genetically modified foods are banned in all countries, take initiative for your and your family’s health by choosing to abstain from GM-containing foods. Most processed foods containing artificial sweeteners (high fructose corn syrup, for example) contain GMOs, so opt for organic, source local, and grow your own food so you can take control of your own health and help preserve the planet.

 

 Excerpt from  Nation of Change.

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Amanda Froelich

France joins Russia to go GMO free. Sept. 2015

Published: September 19, 2015 | Authors: Lorraine Chow | EcoWatch | News Report

Russia and France have joined the growing list of European countries crusading against genetically modified (GMO) food and crops.
According to RT, Russia is stamping out any GMOs in its entire food production.

“As far as genetically-modified organisms are concerned, we have made decision not to use any GMO in food productions,” Russia’s Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich announced at an international conference on biotechnology in the city of Kirov.

Dvorkovich added that there is a clear difference between the use of GMO-products for food versus scientific or medicinal purposes, RT reported.

“This is not a simple issue, we must do very thorough work on division on these spheres and form a legal base on this foundation,” he said.

Russia already has hardline policies against GMOs. In 2012, Russia banned imports of Monsanto’s corn after a French study linked the company’s GMO-product to tumors in lab rats (the study was later retracted). Last year, the country banned imports of GMO products, with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saying the nation already has the resources to produce its own non-GMO fare.

“If the Americans like to eat GMO products, let them eat it then. We don’t need to do that; we have enough space and opportunities to produce organic food,” said Medvedev. (And in case you’re wondering, Russian president Vladimir Putin isalso anti-GMO).

The percentage of GMOs currently present in the Russian food industry is at a mere 0.01 percent, RT observed.

Russia’s latest move comes after similar news pouring in from Western Europe in recent weeks.

On Thursday, France followed in the footsteps of other European Union countries—Scotland,Germany, Latvia and Greece—and has chosen the “opt-out” clause of a EU rule passed in March that allows its 28-member bloc to abstain from growing GMO crops, even if they are already authorized to be grown within the union.

Specifically, the country wants to shut out the cultivation of nine GMO maize strains within its borders, according to yesterday’s joint statement from Ségolène Royal, France’s Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development, and Stéphane Le Foll, the Minister of Agriculture and Energy.

“It is part of the very important progress made ​​by the new European framework on the implementation of GMO cultivation in which France played a leading role,” the statement reads (via translation from Sustainable Pulse). “This directive makes it possible for Member States to request the exclusion of their territorial scope of existing authorizations or of those under consideration.”

France’s latest GMO-sweep also singles out Monsanto’s MON 810 maize, the only GMO crop grown in Europe, and is currently under review at the European level, Reuters reported. France, which is the EU’s largest grain grower and exporter, is further cementing its anti-GMO sentiments with this latest move. The country already prohibits the cultivation of any variety of genetically modified maize due to environmental concerns. Monsanto, which maintains the safety of their products, has said it will abide by the requests from the growing wave of European countries turning their backs on these controversial crops.

The agribusiness giant, however, recently accused Latvia and Greece of ignoring science and refusing GMOs out of “arbitrary political grounds.” In a statement, Monsanto said that the move from the two countries “contradicts and undermines the scientific consensus on the safety of MON810.” Meanwhile, much-maligned company didn’t have a total loss this week.

According to Politico EU, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety—a key committee in the European Parliament—”rejected a proposal Tuesday to halt an extension in the use of the world’s most popular weedkiller,” aka Roundup, Monsanto’s flagship herbicide.
Politico EU added in its report: “Sales of the herbicide, which is contained in 750 products, must stop in December if not given re-authorization. The Commission proposes to extend marketing to June of next year.”

Roundup contains an active ingredient called glyphosate which the World Health Organization’s cancer arm famously classified as a possible carcinogen.

Despite the health concerns of the product, a Commission spokesman defended the decision. “Extending the approval period by six months will give EFSA [the European Food Safety Agency] time to finalize its scientific conclusions on glyphosate,” Enrico Brivio said in a statement.

“On the renewal of the authorization, the Commission, in consultation with Member States, will take appropriate risk management action following the publication of the EFSA opinion,” he added.

Authors

Dr Vrain to speak at CV Nature Sept 20th 2015

CV Naturalists Society has invited Dr THierry Vrain to speak on Sunday  Sept 20th 7pm.

“Industrial Agriculture, engineered food and your health” will take place at the Florence Filberg Seniors Centre at 7pm (sharp) September 20, 2015.

For further details  visit:

http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca 

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about the new revelations and research on herbicides. The more we know how they work, the more we can arm ourselves to use them properly. On  July 29, 2015, a branch of the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a monograph of the herbicide glyphosate  which has now elevated its status to join the list of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) slated for phaseout.

These new documents come out without any media coverage and usually well hidden from pubic notice. It is very fortunate that we have Dr. Vrain to explain in laymen terms what the stakes are and  what we should be aware of.

Hope to see you there.