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Health Canada approves GM Golden Rice, not intended for sale in Canada
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Thursday, 22 March, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ottawa
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Health Canada has given its nod to genetically-modified (GM) or genetically-engineered Vitamin A-enhanced Golden Rice, although it is not intended for sale in Canada and has not yet been approved by regulators in the intended markets.
“Health Canada should not be spending public resources to assess the safety of GM foods that will not be sold in Canada,” said Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN).
Golden Rice is genetically engineered to have Vitamin A and is promoted as part of a solution to Vitamin A deficiency, which is a serious public health problem in many developing countries, but not in Canada. Golden Rice is intended for distribution in the Philippines, as well as other countries, including Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, where rice is a major staple food.
Farmers’ and consumers’ rights networks in the Philippines have expressed alarm about Canada’s approval. The networks are concerned that a national policy loophole could enable proponents to use Canada’s approval as a safety stamp to introduce Golden Rice in the Philippines and start feeding trials, including with children and pregnant women.
“We also question why the International Rice Research Institute is seeking safety approval from Canada, Australia and the United States, while farmers and consumers in Asia who plant and eat rice as a staple are left in the dark. Promoting readily available, diverse and safe Vitamin A food sources from sustainable and ecological farming is the long term solution to combat malnutrition, ensure food security and health, not genetically modified crops like Golden Rice,” said Cris Panerio of MASIPAG, a farmers’ network in the Philippines which is part of the Stop Golden Rice! Network, a pan-Asian network of over 30 groups.
Health Canada, which posted its approval decision recently, follows a 2017 approval by Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
“The Canadian government has just waded into a huge global controversy that should be left to Asian farmers and consumers to decide, not Canadian regulators,” said Eric Chaurette of international development group Inter Pares.
In a recent letter responding to a request from CBAN for a rationale for the departmental review of Golden Rice, Health Canada said, “Developers often choose to seek authorisation in Canada as a first step in their regulatory plan even if they do not plan to sell the product in Canada.”
“This precedent could set Canada up as a global regulatory haven for companies that want a seal of approval for their GM product,” said Thibault Rehn of Quebec network Vigilance OGM, adding, “The government should consult the farmers and consumers to decide which GM foods it should evaluate.”
While Health Canada has stated that the GM rice is not intended for sale in Canada, they state their safety assessment was conducted in order to determine whether this rice variety could be sold in Canada as food.
“We need to first give the people and government of the Philippines time to assess and debate Golden Rice, before we weigh in,” said Chaurette.
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