News Breeding
Canada takes important hurdle in GMO approval
The Canadian Department of Agriculture has taken an important new step in allowing genetic modification in crop breeding. This brings a major step closer to approval for technologies such as Crispr-Cas. One important topic remains to be addressed. That is the use of GM crops in animal feed.
To enable genetic modification (GMO) of crops in Canada – for example to make plants more resistant to drought – there are three important issues to be addressed: human health, the impact on the environment and finally the impact on the livestock farming.
No GMO label
A year ago, Health Canada already published new requirements for breeding plants with GM technology, such as Crispr-Cas. With that, the first hurdle was taken. At the beginning of May, Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that the ministry recognized genetic modification as a permitted part of the breeding process. Food watchdog CFIA has adapted its requirements to this end. In concrete terms, this means that cultivars that have been created with the aid of genetic modification are not regarded as such. However, the new species must not deviate from the original plant and there must be no danger to the environment. It is not allowed to cross different types of DNA.
According to Minister Bibeau, it is important that plant breeders have access to new breeding techniques. They are much faster than traditional methods and allow for more possibilities. “Genetically modified varieties are just as safe for humans, animals and the environment as traditionally bred crops,” she says. If it is up to the minister, fast varieties will come onto the market that require less fertilizer and crop protection and that, for example, can withstand drought better.
Database
According to the minister, the fact that GMO is no longer seen as an outsider does not mean that it is not being looked at at all. A database – the Canadian Variety Transparency Database – will soon have to register each variety or cultivator and which breeding technique has been used. Breeding companies have responded enthusiastically to the news, which they have been waiting for for almost ten years.
Not everything is in cans and jugs yet. The last step – the guaranteed safety of animal feed – has yet to be taken. A consultation period on the topic will start this year. Pierre Petelle, CEO of CropLife Canada - the trade association for crop protection product manufacturers - says told Real Agriculture that a decision may be made this year. Much analysis has already been carried out, which means that the subject can be dealt with relatively quickly.
Consequences for the Netherlands
Breeders of seed potatoes or onions, for example, are probably looking with gritted teeth at the positive developments in Canada that are not being made possible in Europe. It has been there since 2017 CETAtrade agreement between the European Union and Canada. Last year, the treaty was officially approved by Dutch politicians. This means that GM crops can also be exported to the Netherlands and other European countries. For example, rapeseed for oil production, rapeseed meal for animal feed or wheat for the baking and milling industry. This skewed relationship was already one of the spearheads in the run-up to the conclusion of the treaty.
Niels van der Boom
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