Press Releases

Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Toronto: "Our concern with genetically modified foods is not what we know about their safety, but rather what we don't know," says Mark Hathaway, The United Church of Canada's program officer for Biotechnology and Food Security.

Hathaway explains that this uncertainty has led the United Church to call on the Canadian government to declare an immediate moratorium on the approval of new genetically modified (GM) food varieties until a more rigorous and independent system of approving, regulating, monitoring, and labelling GM foods has been fully implemented.

"We believe that our current regulatory system lacks the necessary transparency, independence and rigour to truly ensure food safety and ecological sustainability," says Hathaway. "We need an independent government agency working at arm's length to test and monitor all GM foods. This agency should publish all test results and make them available for scientific peer review."

In a letter sent this week to the Prime Minister, the United Church outlines the genetically modified food policy recently approved by its General Council Executive. The policy's recommendations are the result of nearly four years of work involving study and consultation with United Church congregations, theologians, ethicists, agronomists, and other scientists.

The recommendations cover a broad range of issues, including the mandatory labelling of genetically modified foods; guaranteeing the right of farmers to save, reuse, and exchange seeds; and guaranteeing that Canada's trade and food aid policies do not promote-directly or indirectly-the adoption of GM foods in countries that have not explicitly chosen to do so.

Hathaway explains that the United Church also believes that the Government of Canada should commission thorough, independent, peer-reviewed research into some of the key unanswered safety and ecological concerns around GM foods.

As well, he says, some aspects of GM food technology should simply be prohibited because they pose significant health and ecological risks. One example of this would be a ban on using GM food crops to produce chemical and pharmaceutical products, such as drugs and hormones, that could negatively affect human or animal health if consumed unintentionally.

The moratorium on new GM food approvals is an important first step in creating a regulatory system that takes precaution seriously, says Hathaway.

He adds, "Over four years ago, the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel's report called for a much more rigorous and independent regulatory framework for GM foods. Not only have few of the report's key recommendations ever been implemented, but now, with recent legislative initiatives like Bill C-27, regulations applying to the approval of GM and other novel foods could even be weakened."

The United Church of Canada believes the moratorium should remain in place until a new independent agency and regulatory regime for GM foods has been implemented, and all GM food varieties that are currently approved for consumption have been retested.

For further information, please contact:

Mary-Frances Denis
Communications Officer
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
E-mail: Mary-Frances Denis