By Michael Hammond
Health-food stores are calling for an elimination of genetically modified foods from all stores in Canada.
David Rose, co-owner of Herb and Spice Shop, is taking part.
He says large grocery chains are not the source of the problem.
Rose says most suppliers use genetically altered crops, leaving grocery chains no alternative because they buy in bulk.
Rose says he distributed a petition demanding a mandatory labelling policy to identify GM foods in stores.
“We’ve seen a strong stance on mandatory labelling,” he says, adding that over 1,200 people signed his petition.
Dan Sawyer, a volunteer with Food Action Ottawa, says not enough research has been done to declare GM foods safe.
“The government and industry are pushing a lot of products forward through the regulatory system without any public consultation,” he says, and environmental and public safety hazards are being overlooked.
Lucy Sharratt, co-ordinator of the safe food campaign for the Sierra Club of Canada, says that GM foods could create new allergies.
Sharratt says the Sierra Club isn’t calling for a ban on GM foods. It wants further research and mandatory labelling policies in all stores, allowing consumers to decide for themselves if they want these products.
“Then the market will speak,” he says.
Rose says he posts pledges from suppliers in his store which assure customers their products are not genetically altered. Rose adds that many health food stores across Canada have been first in doing away with GM foods.
On April 1, volunteers across the country staged demonstrations in front of grocery stores.
The Canadian government supports the biotechnology industry responsible for GM foods, because it says the technology creates pest-resistant crops and higher yields, Sharratt says.
But Sharratt says there’s no evidence of this. She also says genetically altered crops pose a threat to the environment.
“Once you release genetically engineered products into the environment, they cannot be controlled,” she says.
Sawyer says European consumer protests against GM foods forced most European companies to eliminate them from their stores.
Sharratt says this won’t be as easy here because the government has invested a lot in the biotechnology industry.
“The government is putting up walls to support the biotech industry,” she says. “There’s been no public debate.”
So far, no Canadian chain has committed to a mandatory labelling policy.
“What we need is a mandatory labelling policy so that people can be guaranteed in knowing what’s in their food,” he says.