National Post | Financial Post | December 27, 1999 | John Greenwood
The battle over genetically modified food has, according to this story, crossed the Atlantic.
Any doubt about that was put to rest last week after Tesco Stores Ltd., Britain's largest supermarket chain, warned suppliers of meat and dairy products, including, the story says, some Canadian firms, not to use genetically modified grain in their animal feed. While that hardly amounts to a consumer revolt against "frankenfood," it is a shot across the bows for Canadian food producers.
Alarmingly, the industry appears, the story says, to have been taken by surprise and is in disarray as to how to handle the issue.
Chris Kyte, president of the Food Institute of Canada, an association representing 150 food processing companies, was quoted as saying, "From where I sit, I don't see a big consumer concern over GM foods. I've had five letters, all written by special interest groups, and I am not aware of any company that has gotten more than 10 letters. I think consumers are very comfortable with the [Canadian] food inspection system and food they eat."
As far as the controversy in Europe, Mr. Kyte was further quoted as saying, "Let's face it. It's a great trade barrier for the Europeans."
In any case, he argues, Europe is a small market for Canadian food producers. If it falls off the map, Canada wouldn't notice.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is the Canadian Wheat Board, which is getting set to face what it believes is the inevitable. In a speech last October, Greg Arason, the chief executive of the board, made it clear that it is time for the agricultural sector to start looking at ways to segregate GM crops. "Whether or not the customer has an incorrect or incomplete scientific knowledge, if they think there will be a negative public reaction to a certain product, they simply will not buy it. This is a bottom line that must be recognized."
But Mr. Arason is, the story says, in the minority.
Many of those contacted for this story refused requests for interviews, referring questions to industry associations (such as Mr. Kyte's) charged with stick handling the issue.
One approach that seems to be gaining momentum is a voluntary labelling system, which, if implemented, would allow manufacturers to identify GM components in their products, in the same way that manufacturers list nutritional components.
The idea, according to Jeanne Cruikshank, regional vice-president of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, is to provide a set of consistent rules so food manufacturers, if they choose, can label their products to identify genetic components.
Coming up with a set of guidelines that makes sense is a difficult problem, she says. First you have to decide what it means to say something has been genetically modified. How much of a GM ingredient do you need in a product before you have to refer to it on a label? And how far down the food chain do you go? Is it significant if beef used in a hamburger was fed GM grain? And so forth.
But will giving manufacturers the option of identifying GM ingredients in their products put consumers at their ease? Experience in just about every other industrialized country seems to suggest, the story says, that the food industry is in for a rude awakening.
In Japan, the Kirin and Sapporo breweries have stopped using transgenic maize in their beer and the national tofu manufacturers' association has opted to use only non-genetically modified soy beans in its tofu production.
In Mexico, at least one taco manufacturer, Groupo Maseca, has announced plans to use only non-GM flour.
Closer to home, McCain Foods, one of the world's largest makers of french fries, has been quietly informing potato growers that it will not accept transgenetic varieties.
The coupe de grace came earlier this month as Monsanto Co., one of the world's leading developers of transgenic crops, announced plans to spin off part of its prized crop development business. Analysts saw the development as a strategic U-turn for Monsanto, which had previously described the business as the foundation upon which it would build its future success.
Now it seems the retreat is turning into a rout. In a remarkable disclosure, Monsanto revealed last week that GM food has been banned from the cafeteria at its head office in Britain.
"We believe in choice," Tony Combes, the company's director of corporate affairs, is reported to have said. He denied it was an embarrassment for the company.
So far, only a handful of crops grown in this country has been genetically modified, mostly varieties of soya, canola and corn. Very soon there will be a lot more. The bottom line is that the cost of establishing dual production systems would be hugely expensive, say observers. The end result would be dramatic increases in food prices.
