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Biotechnology
Biotechnology position statement
Biotechnology strategy - issues and future direction
Biotechnology position statement
The CWB respects the right and desire of consumers to have confidence in the food products they purchase and consume.
The CWB also recognizes the potential future benefits that biotechnology may provide to consumers and to wheat and barley farmers in western Canada.
Many CWB customers and western Canadian producers have expressed concern about the potential introduction of certain wheat and barley varieties that have been genetically modified using recombinant DNA plant breeding technology.
The CWB opposes the unconfined release of genetically modified wheat and barley in western Canada unless certain stringent conditions can be met.
Those conditions include:
- Widespread market acceptance;
- The establishment of achievable tolerance levels;
- The development of an effective segregation system,;
- The availability of rapid, accurate and inexpensive detection technology; and
- A positive cost-benefit throughout the wheat value chain with particular emphasis on farmer income.
These conditions are necessary for the CWB to continue to meet customers' needs for wheat and barley shipments with the required guarantees, and to ensure a net benefit to western Canadian farmers.
The current Canadian regulatory system for biotechnology is intended to ensure the food, feed, and environmental safety of Canadian crops.
To ensure that the interests of farmers and customers are fully considered, the CWB's position is that a cost-benefit analysis should be conducted as part of the regulatory process prior to the unconfined release of a genetically modified wheat or barley variety.
The CWB is committed to working with its customers and through domestic and international forums to assure established regulations and agreements support sound commercial practices for the marketing of genetically modified and non-genetically modified wheat and barley.
Biotechnology strategy - issues and future direction
Regulatory cost-benefit analysis
Under the current regulatory system, a new Plant with Novel Trait will be approved for unconfined release if it meets science-based criteria for food, feed, and environmental safety.
The variety will then be registered for commercial production if it meets science-based criteria for end-use quality, agronomic quality and disease resistance.
There is currently no process in place to prevent the unconfined release of a new variety even if it is clear that the new variety will have a negative market impact and will result in lower farmer returns.
The CWB is working with other wheat value chain stakeholders to have the federal government include cost-benefit analysis prior to the unconfined release of a new genetically modified wheat variety.
Agronomic considerations
The net benefit to farmers from the potential introduction of genetically modified wheat and barley will depend not only on marketing challenges, but also on the agronomic benefits and risks that a new variety may pose.
The CWB has been working with the wheat value chain and the scientific community to establish forums and to circulate the latest research findings to ensure that all agronomic factors that may affect the profitability of farming operations are addressed.
The CWB is also working to ensure that adequate stewardship plans are in place prior to the unconfined release of any genetically modified wheat or barley variety.
Segregation and detection technology
The CWB is working with the industry to design the production and handling practices, documentation and testing protocol required to segregate genetically modified from non-genetically modified wheat to meet customer requirements.
An important part of that segregation system is the ability to accurately, quickly and economically test for the presence of transgenic varieties.
The CWB encourages all technology developers to ensure that appropriate detection technology is available as early as possible in the development process, and, at a minimum, prior to submitting its safety approval applications.
To ensure that the segregation system that is developed meets the potential demand for non-genetically modified wheat, it is essential that an internationally recognized set of documentation, testing and sampling procedures be established.
The CWB is working to ensure that controls are in place to prevent the production and/or importation into Canada of transgenic wheat prior to registration in order to maintain the integrity of Canada's grain quality assurance system.
Cartagena protocol on biosafety and other international agreements
As a member of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), the CWB is working to advise governments on the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and other international agreements that will affect the transboundary movement of grain.
The IGTC's objective is to ensure that the flow of grain between farmers and customers is not unnecessarily interrupted by implementation of the Protocol and related agreements.
The CWB supports the IGTC position that documentation identifying a shipment as containing living modified organisms should not be required for shipments comprising 95 per cent or more non-modified materials.
Labelling
The CWB supports a voluntary labelling standard centered on products of recombinant DNA technology that provides for a five per cent tolerance level of genetically modified content.