On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 23:15:35 -0400, "Dave Gower"
wrote:
I live in an area surrounded by farmers and they think Roundup is great
Apparently you live in a bubble....perhaps you should talk to those
farmers instead of just statcan ing them!
CWB ASKS MONSANTO TO PUT THE BRAKES ON ROUNDUP READY WHEAT: In a
May 22 letter from the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), Board of Directors
Chair Ken Ritter and
Adrian Measner, President and CEO, asked Monsanto Canada's President,
Peter Turner, to
withdraw Monsanto's application for an environmental safety assessment
of Roundup Ready
wheat (RRW). Monsanto's RRW application is currently before the
Canadian Food Inspection
Agency. The letter detailed the devastating economic impact the
introduction of RRW will have
on western Canadian farmers. "Economic harm could include lost access
to premium markets,
penalties caused by rejected shipments, and increased farm management
and grain handling
costs," the letter states. The CWB has asked Monsanto to confirm its
compliance with the CWB's
request by June 27, 2003. The CWB has already called on the federal
government to close the
regulatory gap on genetically modified wheat by adding a cost benefit
analysis to the food, feed
and environmental assessments currently being undertaken on RRW.
However, the CWB is
taking this additional step because RRW could be approved before the
introduction of any
regulatory changes. "Under the current system, RRW could be approved
for unconfined release
as early as 2004," Ritter said. "We had to move quickly, so we are
appealing to Monsanto
directly."
MONSANTO CANADA DECLINES TO WITHDRAW REGULATORY APPROVAL: The
May 28 edition of Agriline reported that Monsanto Canada will continue
to seek regulatory
approval for GMO wheat despite a request from the Canadian Wheat Board
(CWB) to withdraw
its application, but maintains it will not release any varieties until
GMO wheat is approved in the
U.S., Japan, and Canada. The article states that approval could come
as early as next year.
UNCLASSIFIED USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
MONSANTO URGES OTTAWA TO CONTINUE APPROVAL PROCESS: On June 12,
representatives from Monsanto appeared before the Canadian House of
Commons Standing
Committee on Agriculture. Kerry Preete, Monsanto VP of U.S. Markets,
testifying on the
importance of allowing Roundup Ready Wheat to proceed through the
Canadian regulatory
approval process, said, "We believe it is important to have regulatory
agencies in Canada, US
GAIN Report - CA3036 Page 3 of 7
and Japan review the food, feed and environmental safety of this
product. Successfully
completing the regulatory review process will send an important
message to our customers
around the world that this product has been comprehensively reviewed
and is deemed safe.
This review will help address questions and concerns raised during
customer acceptance
discussions." On the issue of market acceptance, Preete indicated that
Monsanto was
committed to working with the Canadian grain handling industry to
"establish an effective
segregation system" so that grain production could accommodate both GM
and non-GM
wheat varieties.
CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD MULLS COURT ACTION TO STOP MONSANTO: According to
a June
19 article from the National Post, Adrian Measner, president and chief
executive of the
Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), was cited as telling Reuters on June 18
that the CWB may
consider legal action to stop Monsanto Co. from growing genetically
modified (GM) wheat in
Canada outside limited government-run trials, adding, "We've given
strong assurances to our
customers that we will make sure this situation is resolved in Canada
and we intend to take
whatever action necessary to do that." The story says it is the
strongest statement the CWB
has made to date on how far it will go to prevent GM wheat from being
grown in the near
future in Canada. Mr. Measner was further quoted as saying, "Having it
grown in Canada, it's
not an option. The costs are just too horrendous and it needs to be
addressed." The CWB
asked Monsanto to agree by tomorrow to withdraw its application.
Monsanto t has not yet
formally responded, he said. Monsanto has promised it will not
commercialize the wheat until
at least some customers accept it and until it can be dealt with
separately within the bulk
grain handling system.
Sustainable development is a high priority for many industry
associations. For example, the Canadian Standards
Association (CSA) developed a national sustainable forest management
certification program for Canada's forest
industry. Based on internationally agreed criteria and advice from
interested stakeholders, the standards verify that a
defined forest is being managed according to a sustainable forest
management system. Model forests have also
been established in many provinces to gain practical experience in
sustainable forest management techniques. Some
provinces, such as British Columbia and Alberta, have also launched
discrete sustainable forest management
initiatives.
Several major enterprises in Canada have adopted sustainable
development policies, for example Shell, Imperial Oil,
Ontario Hydro, TransAlta, Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, IBM, Alberta-Pacific
Forest Industries, and Daishowa-
Marubeni International.
Cooperation: Canada endorses the OECD Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises as an important tool to support
sustainable behavior by Canadia n companies investing in the
developing world.
For more information on the Canada and the MNE guidelines visit:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/ncppcn/
multinational-e.asp