May 25, 2013
Take Action / Resources / Tools
By Tool
Briefing Notes
CBAN Remarks to the UN Rapporteur on the Right to Food, May 8 2012: Genetic Engineering in Canada and the Right to Food Internationally
CBAN Briefing to Members of Parliament. Genetically Engineered Organisms: The Need to Support Bill C-474 & Know the Economic Risk to Export Markets February 2011.
CBAN Briefing to the House of Commons Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food: Genetically Engineered Organisms: The Need to Consider Potential Economic Harm Prior to Commercial Release December 2010.
Flax contamination:
CBAN Briefing to Members of Parliament: Genetically Modified Flax Contamination: Canadian Farmers Loose their European Market , October 29, 2009.
Trade:
CBAN Briefing: WTO dispute over Genetically Modified Organisms: Canada, Argentina, US vs European Union July 20, 2009.
Click here for related information and news on trade and GMOs.
Regulation:
CBAN Briefing Note #1 to the Yukon Legislative Assembly: Genetically Engineered Crops: The Inadequacies and Limitations of Federal Regulation June 28, 2009.
Environmental Risk:
CBAN Briefing Note #2 to the Yukon Legislative Assembly: Genetically Engineered Crops: Irreversible harm to natural ecosystems June 28, 2009
Full CBAN Briefing Package to the Yukon Legislative Assembly (17 pages)
Click here for more information on the call for a 10-year moratorium on GE in the Yukon.
Chefs' Portal
Resources
- Read or download the Chefs Guide to Genetically Modified Foods
- Order the GM Food Information postcards for your customers.
The bee and cow contemplate GM alfalfa
Take Action
The GMO-Free ZONE is an initiative of the Canadian Chefs’ Congress that encourages restaurants and food establishments to declare their opposition to Genetically Engineered (GE) foods.
- Join the GMO Free ZONE – Food Professionals Against Genetically Modified Organisms group on Facebook.
- If your establishment wishes to proclaim its support of the GMO-Free ZONE send an email to gmofree@canadianchefscongress.com you’ll be added to the growing list of likeminded businesses and send you a door sticker!
In 2010 at the Canadian Chefs' Congress in BC more than 200 chefs signed a petition against GE salmon.
Consumer Guides
Genetically modified (GM) corn, canola and soy are used as processed food ingredients in a lot of packaged foods. There is no up-to-date consumer guide of all these brand-name foods however below is a table that shows all of the GM foods on the market so you know what to look for. And here are some ways to avoid GM foods.
How Can I Avoid GM Foods?
Our government does not require labeling. But you can still make a choice:
- Eating certified organic food is one way you can avoid GM food because GM is prohibited in organic farming. This includes organic dairy, eggs and meat because animals in organic farming are not fed GM grains like corn or soy.
- You can avoid eating processed foods with corn, canola and soy ingredients.
- You can buy cane sugar to avoid eating sugar from GM sugarbeets.
- Support farmers who fight GM: buy food directly from farmers who do not plant GM corn, canola or soy or use GM grains for meat, dairy or egg production.
You can also visit the Non-GMO Project to find lists of brand name products that have eliminated GM ingredients.
Why Your Food Choices Matter: A Guide to Local and Ecologically Grown Food - Ontario and BC versions.Click here to view this great brochure! Order copies of this colouful brochure, includes the basics about local, organic, ecological as well as information about what genetically engineered crops and foods are on the market. Click here for more information and references.
E-News
Click here to sign up to the CBAN News and Action Listserve - receive the latest information and action alerts - low traffic list to keep you informed.
Films
"Alfalfa: Queen of the Pasture"
The professional animator who made this film about GM alfalfa is organic farmer, Nathan Carey, who is featured in the film "To Make a Farm" about young farmers! Check it out!
"Smurfanto"
Smurfs deal with the arrival of GMOs in this great 7 minute film from Quebec!
The World According to Monsanto
Monsanto is the world leader in genetically engineered seeds, as well as one of the most controversial corporations in industrial history. This century-old empire has created some of the most toxic products ever sold, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the herbicide Agent Orange. Based on a painstaking investigation, The World According to Monsanto puts together the pieces of the company’s history, calling on hitherto unpublished documents and numerous first-hand accounts.
The World According to Monsanto filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin with CBAN Coordinator, Lucy Sharratt in Ottawa.
Misleading reports, collusion, pressure tactics and attempts at corruption: the history of Monsanto is filled with disturbing episodes. Behind its clean, green image, Monsanto is tightening its grasp on the world seed market, striving for market supremacy to the detriment of food security and the global environment.
CBAN rating: CBAN gives 5 stars to a great film that documents our victories against Monsanto and the most pressing current issues. The film includes footage from the Canadian fight against Bovine Growth Hormone and ends with the dramatic situation faced by small farmers in Paraguay who are surrounded by expanding monoculture of GE soy and its herbicide Roundup. How can these farmers protect their families from pesticide poisoning? See La Soja Mata/Soy Kills or join with CBAN to support these farmers and to follow the issues raised in the film. Contact CBAN to buy the film. Click here to see more information about Monsanto.
Maps
The Seed Map is a teaching and advocacy tool designed to show the state of global agro-biodiversity today. Anyone can use it – teachers, gardeners, policy makers, and more! The map identifies key threats to the world’s seed and biodiversity systems, and highlights regions where peoples’ movements are fighting to protect biodiversity – and winning!
Map of GE Food Labelling Laws Around the World: From the Center for Food Safety US.
Pamphlets and Factsheets
Factsheets
Séralini et al. GM corn safety study in context - Introduction and basic comparison, September 2012
The Genetically Modified "Non-Browning" Apple, November 2012
Quick Guide to Genetically Modified Foods.
GM Fish Info and Action Flyer. Updated Sept 2011.
Why Your Food Choices Matter: A Guide to Local and Ecologically Grown Food
Contact us to request copies of the BC or Ontario brochure.
This colouful brochure for Ontario, includes the basics about local, organic, ecological as well as information about what genetically engineered crops and foods are on the market.
- Click here to find a file that you can send around to your friends and read at home (letter size for printing - 3 pages).
- Click here to view this great brochure in its format for printing on 11X17 (to be folded into a brochure).
Click here to download the chart of GM food and crops - print it up for your fridge!
For Farmers in Ontario:
- Farm Updates 2010: A New Decade of Genetically Modified Crops
- Farm Update 2008: Genetically Modified Crops in Ontario - Still up to date background document on GM crops for farmers. A joint project of CBAN, the National Farmers Union Ontario and the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario.
SmartStax information and action flyer, January 2010. An Analysis of the Dangerous Consequences of Stacked GE Traits and the Deliberate Failings of Canadian Regulation.
GE-Free Popcorn Packet
Fun and informative! for your local film festivals and events!
Click here to download a GE-Free Popcorn Packet for you to use at your local events - created by GE Free BC
Click here to see the paper-folding diagram
You can watch Julie Emerson fold the packet in her great 3-minute "how-to" video posted on You Tube - search for "Popcorn Packet"
"I designed the GE Free Popcorn Packet to give out not only some important info about genetic engineering of corn and other seeds but also some free organic popcorn. The GE Free Seeds Free Packet, containing beans to plant, was a success for several years, and with the many upcoming Seedy Saturdays, farmers’ markets, and screenings of the film King Corn, I thought it was time for a fresh take on it."
The text is printed on the paper exactly as it is to be folded, and has contact info for GE Free BC. If you live outside BC, feel free to modify it with your own seed and contact information by actual cutting-and-pasting. The packet is an easy to fold origami envelope, based on a Seeds of Diversity design.
