To Fear or Not To Fear: The Truth About GMOs in Canada

One of the first questions I ever answered when I started iGEM was "You're working with GMOs! Is that safe?" At the time, I was fourteen and naive so I responded the same way I would for years: "Yes of course it's safe! Everyone working with GMOs has the best interest of the public in mind and, on top of that, the government regulates GMOs and makes sure we are safe." But after six years, I finally did my own research, and while I still believe that the first part of my response is true, I know that the second part is a lie.

For the past few weeks, the UAlberta iGEM team has been conducting research to develop a policy paper about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Canada. This policy paper seeks to understand GMO regulations in Canada and — from the perspective of an iGEM team — make recommendations for how regulations, public education, and government action can change surrounding the use of GMOs to allow for scientific development while best serving the public. In all honesty, what I have learned so far has shook me to the very core.

I now believe that the Canadian Government's GMO regulations verge on negligence and their process of approval demonstrates a lack of transparency that lends itself to corruption. 

But before I get into all that, let's talk about the history of GMOs in Canada and how Canada approves GMOs for usage.

In 1995, the Canadian government approved the first GMO crops for planting in Canada. Since then, Canada has become the third largest producer of GMO crops in the world and the Canadian government has approved over 85 GMOs, including canola, apples, and even salmon. In 2001, the Expert Panel on the Future of Food Biotechnology released a report which criticized the process through which the Canadian government approves GMOs, and gave 53 recommendations for improvement. Of these 53 recommendations, only two have been addressed in the 18 years since.

So how does this highly criticized approval process take place? Well, first of all, a food must be deemed novel; "a [n]ovel food... is defined as products that ha[ve] never been used as a food." Once deemed novel, regulatory action is triggered and the company producing the GMO must then apply to the government for approval. As the Canadian government does not do its own testing on GMO products, it is up to the company to provide the government with the science and testing behind their own products. This research and the report provided is not regulated by the government. Following this submission, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency then go through the process of evaluating and then either approving or rejecting the GMO product for use. The Canadian public is given a short write-up about why the government approved this product or not, but otherwise this entire process takes place behind closed doors. It is also government policy to not give the public or researchers access to the research the company did into their own product.

According to the government of Canada, this is an "extremely rigorous" approval method that is based on complex scientific research. But as "some scholars... [have] note[d]... Canada generally espouses a permissive attitude towards GMOs," and I for one have to agree. Not only is this system a bureaucratic mess, but it is also not one that is going to protect our people, society, economy, or planet.

So what are some of the issues regarding GMO regulations in Canada?

1. Self Testing and Reporting

Health Canada says that it allows for companies to conduct their own testing on GMO products because:

However, there is a multitude of issues with this process. First of all, the Canadian government does not release any of the testing or reports that are provided by the companies about their products to the public or other researchers. This lack of transparency also means that a key part of the scientific method is missing: peer review. moreover, it limits the public — who should control the government — from criticizing the choices of the government, or from just generally being informed about what they are eating. This transparency also limits the press' ability to act as a check/balance and question the government's choices while keeping the public informed. As Health Canada also mentions, companies spend millions of dollars conducting their own testing and providing the government with proof that their product is safe. This system may work for massive companies such as Monsantos, but it makes this system of approval impossible to navigate for smaller biotech companies. This essentially creates a virtual monopoly on seeds and thus food production in Canada. Finally, while the government does review this research prior to approval, allowing a company to report its own findings on its own products means there is room for companies to lie, misinterpret, or be untruthful about their findings.

Canada has allowed for products to be tested by the very companies that are selling them, leading to a litany of issues. This is negligence.

2. GMO Food Labeling

When surveyed, 80% of Canadians said that they wanted GMO food to be labelled. For nearly two decades, however, the Canadian government has failed to give the Canadian people what they want and GMO food remains unlabeled. While I know that this labeling system would not change my consumption of GMOs, people deserve to know what they are eating as some people may simply not want to consume GMOs due to religious, ethical, environmental, or personal reasons. People also deserve to shop without the fear that they may be consuming something they don't want to. Simply put, people have every right to know what they are eating.

If GMO labeling seems ridiculous to you just think about this: the Canadian government requires companies to state that water is in their products but does not require companies to say if it is selling a product with altered genes from other organisms.

Furthermore, the Canadian government's lack of regulation around labeling means that any company can lie about being GMO-free, which has lead to people being lied to for profit.

When it comes to GMO labeling, the government has chosen to ignore their citizens and side with companies. This is corruption.

3. Recommendations for Change

As previously mentioned, in 2001 the Expert Panel on the Future of Food Biotechnology released a report which criticized the process through which the Canadian government approves GMOs. The panel gave 53 recommendations for improvement, but in the last 18 years only two (that's right, two) of those recommendations have been implemented. The government does not have much to say about why they have chosen to ignore these recommendations and keep a highly flawed system, but it is the choice that they have made.

Ignoring a government panel's suggestions for nearly two decades demonstrates a lack of care on behalf of the Canadian government. Again, this is negligence.

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled programming to bring you this fun gif!

4. Abusing the Environment

Like with most things we do as a society, GMOs have been used in a way that negatively affects the environment. A few ways that the environment is harmed by the use of GMOs is firstly through the creation of mono cultures. Mono cultures are when only one crop is grown for miles. This eliminates biodiversity, leading to the death of animals and insects who lose their food source and habitat.

The second way is through an increased use of pesticides and herbicides, where herbicide use has increased 130% since GMOs were introduced. This is bad as it has an adverse effect on plants, animals, and humans in the surrounding areas. Moreover, the usage of GMOs has reduced the dependency on local produce, which can be a good thing for food stability but is harmful as it decreases food variety and crushes local farming industries who do not want to use GMO crops.

Finally, the extent of the harm GMOs will have on the environment is unknown, because the government of Canada has done no long-term studies to see the effects GMOs will have on the environment.

In fact, all of this is happening because the government of Canada does not study how GMO crops will impact the environment, society, or the economy. That is negligence. And if they are placing company interests over the people, that is corruption.

5. Modern Usages of SynBio

The limited regulations that exist in Canada concerning GMOs are focused on food-related GMOs and nothing more; these regulations are very outdated. The heavy emphasis on food GMOs is demonstrated in a multitude of ways: first of all, the departments that approve GMOs are Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which are not GMO-specific departments as they focus on food, not GMO crops. 

The second way this is shown is through the Canadian government's website on GMOs and the laws that govern GMOs, as they only speak about GMO crops and foods. This is a massive problem because it leaves those who are developing GMOs for non-food-related usage — such as water quality testing, the development of a new fluorescent protein, or even a treatment for Nosema — have no idea how they are regulated or if they are even regulated at all.

Canada's understanding of GMOs are also very outdated. By reading over their policies, debates, regulations, and interactions with companies, it becomes clear that the Canadian government is stuck in the early 2000s. Their biggest concerns are GMO foods and crops, and competitions like iGEM are not even on their radar. They even believe that they are at the forefront of GMOs by depending on large companies like Monsantos and not investing in smaller biotech companies or education programs for new scientists. They also show their old views by not regulating GMOs, not evaluating their safety, and not evaluating their social or economic impacts. It shows that they don't recognize the massive changes in GMO technology that has taken place in the last 20 years, which have made it an extremely powerful tool that can be used to do amazing things — like develop insulin — but also very bad things like environmental and economic destruction.

This is stupidity.

Long story short, Canada does not regulate GMOs properly and that's not a good thing, but that's not the fault of GMOs or the scientists who work with them. With proper regulations, GMOs can do amazing work! They can help to feed millions, develop affordable and safe vaccines, make insulin, and create detection systems for mercury in water. But, we need proper regulations to make people comfortable and make sure that people are safe, we also need regulations to stop one's company from getting control of GMOs, seeds, and crops in Canada.

GMOs are amazing they changed the world and they will continue to change the world, but regulations are needed to make sure the people and the planet are safe.

- Talia D.