Stop feeding people food to cars and animals
As if plagues and wars aren’t enough, the media is scaring us about oncoming food shortages. We’re already seeing rising prices in restaurants and grocery stores, and we’re being warned about actual famines in other countries. There are three main causes. One is the damage to the supply chain movements caused by the pandemic. Hopefully,…
The inconvenient truth for environmentalists and organic farmers is that it’s not poison
By Sylvain Charlebois Dalhousie University and Stuart Smyth University of Saskatchewan Canadians had until July 20 to comment on the federal government’s proposal to increase the amount of glyphosate herbicide residue allowed on legumes. Now, due to some deserved public pressure, Health Canada extended the deadline to Sept. 3. The debate on glyphosate in Canada…
Gene-edited crops can help produce safe and affordable food and energy. But proponents need to make a legitimate case to consumers
Will Canadian consumers want to eat gene-edited food? There's a lot of excitement in agriculture about the introduction of gene-edited food products into the Canadian food system over the next few years. But there’s also a great deal of apprehension. Gene editing is about tweaking a plant’s genome by turning off certain genetic traits. By…
Suggesting that food products with the Non-GMO Project label are safer and more nutritious is simply misleading and rests on scrawny scientific evidence
Most consumers have seen Non-GMO logos on bread and other food products at the grocery store. But the verification program now faces criticism. The Non-GMO Project verified logo is now on over 50,000 food products in North America that bring in more than $30 billion in retail sales. The green leaves and orange butterfly logo…
The world of food marketing is full of deception. The truth is there is very little that’s 'natural' about our food, but that doesn't make it dangerous
“All natural” is a food marketer’s delight. Customers love it, the words generate positive thoughts, and there’s no official definition or standard at all. It means whatever you want it to. That’s why so many food products have the word “natural” somewhere prominent on their labels. The word sells product and represents a free-for-all for…
Scientists have found no negative differences in the health of people eating GM and non-GM foods
The changing environment means we face weather patterns that haven’t been seen in generations. And that means new challenges in feeding humanity. But we have the tools. Storms and floods are more frequent and widespread. Changing temperatures affect oceans and lands, wildlife and crops. Because we haven’t seen such changes before, we often don’t know…
A look back at 2017 shows far too many instances in Canada where we got it all wrong
For my first column of the New Year, I’ve dipped into my collection of irrational, damaging or downright dumb happenings in 2017. The year saw major breakthroughs in the use of genetically-modified human cells to treat diseases, including retinal dystrophy and blood cancer. Human genetic re-engineering is an emerging science but there has been little…
By having science on its side, Monsanto seemed to believe there was no need to answer public concerns – and that was a huge PR mistake
Putting Monsanto out of its misery could mean future debate about genetically-modified crops will be based on facts rather than emotion. Monsanto is arguably the most detested company in the world. But now, Bayer’s acquisition of St. Louis-based Monsanto will likely mean the latter (or at least its brand) will slowly disappear. Many suspect Monsanto intended to kill its brand…
Labelling regulations need to be modified so consumers have final word on the technology
Genetically-modified salmon will soon be on Canada's supermarket shelves, but are retailers and consumers prepared? After four years of testing, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have approved AquaBounty Technologies’ genetically-modified salmon for retail sale in Canada. Given that the mighty U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the same technology six months ago, Canada’s…
The case for GMO salmon is compelling: twice as fast growth, 25% less food to produce, high protein conversion rate
AquaBounty has apparently become aquaculture’s Monsanto. The company’s genetically-engineered Atlantic salmon has just made history by achieving U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human consumption. But some major American supermarkets, including Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Aldi, Target and Kroger, are already saying they will boycott the product. As biotechnologies make their way to the supermarkets and our…