March 11, 2010
Take Action / Resources / Topics / GE Crops and Foods (On the Market)
GE Crops and Foods (On the Market)
It has been 15 years since genetically engineered crops and foods were first introduced into Canada. But only 4 GE crops are currently grown in Canada:
These crops are either insect resistant or herbicide tolerant and many now carry both traits. We could also be importing GE papaya, squash, cottonseed oil and milk products from the US.
Though the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada have approved over 50 varieties of 12 GE crops and foods under their category of "Plants with Novel Traits" and "Novel Foods", not all of these are products of genetic engineering. Furthermore, many GE crop varieties listed are not currently on the market in Canada (such as GE potatoes and tomatoes). See the below lists for the exact breakdown of what genetically engineered seeds farmers in Canada are planting and what GE foods are on our grocery store shelves.
- Click here to see this chart of GM foods in Canada.
- Click here to see the Shoppers Guide from Greenpeace Canada which lists brand-name foods.
- Click here to read the full story of how Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone was rejected in Canada.
GE Crops Globally
2009: GE crops are still confined to a handful of countries with highly industrialised, export-oriented agricultural sectors. Nearly 90% of the area planted to GE crops in 2007 was found in just six countries in North and South America, with 80% in the US, Argentina and Brazil. One country alone, the United States, plants over 50% of the world’s GE crops. Just 3% or less of cropland in India and China is planted to GE crops.
GE Crops in Europe
2009: The only GE crop currently cultivated in the EU is Monsanto's insect resistant (Bt) corn (MON810). In 2008, GE corn was produced in the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia on a cultivation surface of about 100 000 hectares equalling 1.2 percent or the EU's total corn area. Luxembourg, Austria, France, Greece and Hungary have all banned the use and sale of the GE corn due to concerns about its long term effects.
