Call for Canadian Grocery Stores to Reject GM Foods Since Parliament Shot Down Labeling Vote
Groups Call on Grocery Stores to Reject GM Fish and Produce as Parliament Votes Down Mandatory Labeling for GM Foods
OTTAWA, May 17, 2017 – Public interest groups the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network and Vigilance OGM, are expressing profound disappointment that Members of Parliament voted down Private Member’s Bill C-291 for mandatory labeling of genetically modified (GM, also called genetically engineered) foods.
Polls over twenty years consistently show that over 75 percent of Canadians want GM foods labelled. Health Canada’s 2016 survey put this number at 78 percent.(1)
“Transparency and traceability are missing in Canada when it comes to GM foods,” said Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. “The continued lack of mandatory labeling is an untenable situation for consumers.”
SEE: FDA’s GMO Salmon Approval Happens During Media Spin
The federal government does not track what GM foods are on the market. In the absence of mandatory labeling, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network and Vigilance OGM are providing information to the public about which GM foods are in Canadian grocery stores.
Widget not in any sidebars
“Canadians want to know where GM foods are in their grocery stores but without mandatory labeling, consumers are left to fend for themselves,” said Thibault Rehn of the Quebec network Vigilance OGM. “We’re stepping up to provide information where the government and industry fails.”In the absence of labeling, the groups are calling on major retailers to pledge not to sell the newly approved GM salmon, GM apple and GM potato.
“At this point, retailers should make it easy and clear for their customers by keeping GM fish, and GM fruits and vegetables out of stores,” said Sharratt.
The world’s first GM food animal – a GM Atlantic salmon – could be sold in Canada as early as 2018. A GM apple and GM potato have also recently been approved in Canada, but are not yet on the food market in Canada.
“Canada is lagging behind the rest of the world,“ said Rehn. “We now call on the Quebec government to step in and establish mandatory labeling.”
64 countries around the world have mandatory labeling of GM foods.
For more information: Lucy Sharratt, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, 613 809 1103; Thibault Rehn, Vigilance OGM, 514 582 1674.
NOTES: (1) A summary of relevant poll results over twenty years in Canada is posted at www.cban.ca/labellingpolls
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