“Super weeds,” the anticipated result of growing genetically modified (GM) crops, have turned out to be the crops themselves. Prairie farmers are finding GM canola in fields where it has never grown before, and they can’t get rid of it. It’s one of those pesky problems unforeseen by producers and detractors of GM products. Can we regulate biotechnology?

Gordon Hamblin is an organic farmer near Regina, Saskatchewan. He is involved with the organic certification process, and is concerned about the contamination of crops by genetically modified organisms (GMOs). “The European and Asian-Pacific countries are looking for a good, clean product. If GMO crops cross-pollinate with non-GMO crops, then we’re ruined. A border strip around a field doesn’t stop pollen. Some of the ancient grains like kamut or spelt – it could wipe them out.”

Conventional farmers are worried too, Hamblin says. That’s why several Rural Municipalities are passing resolutions asking the Canadian government to block the licensing of GM wheat still in the research stage.

The Biodiversity Convention
Canada has signed on to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, promising to “control the risks” associated with these crops. It seems the government is more interested in shielding the biotech companies. “We have to protect the interest of the developers of those sorts of crops,” a federal official told the CBC. He was explaining why the locations of fifty test plots of GM wheat are kept secret. In the last five years, over forty new GM crops have been approved.

Pat Mooney, with Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), is “distrustful” of Canada’s role at the UN: “Canada’s posture has been unusual and shocking. We have been such advocates of the U.S., pro-industry position. The African countries have in the past seen Canada as even-handed and reasonable, but not any more.”

The Advisory Committee
The Chrétien government appointed the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC) in 1999 to recommend policy on GMOs and other issues. In May, a member of the committee, Peter Phillips, told CBC Radio that GMO opponents are “misinformed.”

“It is naïve to say that anyone is well-informed on the issue,” says Mooney. “Many prominent scientific groups have expressed concerns that the science is just not adequate to assess the risks.” He adds that RAFI is not anti-GMO, but the GM products available now are not proven safe and have no proven benefits.Mooney is concerned that the CBAC lacks the political clout necessary to spark an intelligent debate. The CBAC itself echoes this opinion. In its July 27, 2001 report on round-table discussions, the CBAC admits it “currently has a very low profile.” Their Website makes no mention of Canada’s commitment to the UNs Biodiversity Convention or Biosafety Protocol.

Indigenous Peoples’ Response to Biotechnology
First Nations people still make heavy use of natural resources, and the convention charges nations to “respect, preserve and maintain traditional knowledge and practices” of Indigenous peoples.

Brett Lee Sheldon is the program director for the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, based in Nevada. His organization started out by focussing on the Human Genome Diversity Project, but “we couldn’t stay out of GMOs and agriculture. It’s all driven by the same science and the same political and economic forces.”

Biotechnology is based on a colonial value system, says Sheldon. “It’s the mindset of the dominant society that it can manipulate life and living beings: that it can own life.” His organization attempts to “create space for Indigenous value systems to bear on the problem and empower them to protect themselves.”

Farmers, environmentalists and First Nations people arent content to simply wait for the government to decide how it’s going to control biotechnology. The UN documents on biodiversity point out that “the longer we wait, the fewer options we will have.”

Victoria Klassen is freelance writer based in Regina. She is a single mom, a former corporate communicator and broadcast and print journalist. She has been involved in the student, women’s, union, anti-racism and anti-free-trade movements. Her published writings have appeared in Briarpatch magazine and Canadian Dimension. Lately, she has been writing articles and designing a Website for the PTA at her childrens’ school, packing healthy organic lunches and wondering how to make the world a better place.