February 11, 2012
Take Action / Resources / Topics / GE Free Zones
GE Free Zones
Did you know that there are already GE-Free Zones in Canada?
In 2004, Powell River in BC became the first GE Free Zone in the country.
The Village of Kaslo (January 13, 2009), the City of Rossland (May 11, 2009) and the City of Nelson (November 3, 2008) in BC have all passed GE Free Resolutions.
The Society for a GE Free BC with GE Free Kootenays, and GE Free Yukon are working hard to secure GE Free Zones.
City of Rossland, B.C. Adopts G.E. Free Resolution
May 11, 2009: “Moved by Councillor Charlton / Seconded by Councillor Spearn
THAT the City of Rossland oppose the cultivation of genetically engineered plants and trees, by using transgenic engineering, in the municipality; and that the City of Rossland will not purchase genetically engineered plants and trees for its own use; and that the City of Rossland agrees to revisit the resolution as pertinent new information becomes available that affects this resolution; and the City of Rossland shall forward copies of this resolution to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Union of B.C. Municipalities, Interior Health, B.C. Ministry of Health, B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, B.C. Provincial Health Officer, the Prime Minister of Canada, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, CropLife Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, local MLA and MP offices and any interested and related groups. “
City of Nelson Passes GE-Free Resolution
November 3, 2008: "The City of Nelson does not support the cultivation of genetically engineered plants and trees in the Municipality of Nelson and further that council will not purchase for its own operations GE plants or trees. The City of Nelson agrees to revisit this as pertinent new information becomes available that affects this resolution and further that the City of Nelson shall forward copies of the resolution to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Union of BC Municipalities, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, CropLife Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, local MLA and MP offices and any interested and related groups for comment."
Click here to visit a great resource from Deconstructing Dinner of audio broadcasts, links and documents about creating GE-Free Zones. We hope it will act as a resource for other communities wishing to pass similar resolutions.
The Society for a G.E. Free B.C. is a social justice coalition of groups and individuals across BC/Yukon working for local, community based agriculture, and against genetic engineering of plants and trees. GE Free BC envisions a food-sovereign Canada where no genetically engineered life forms are created, patented, approved, bought, sold or traded. You can become a member now!
To help you garden GE-Free, over 100 seed companies have signed the Safe Seed Pledge that they will not buy or sell genetically engineered seeds.
Yukon Petition
In January 2012 Yukoners for a GMO-Free Yukon started an online petition at www.gmofreeyukon.com "At this point in time we do not have any genetically modified crops planted in the Yukon, and we would like to keep it that way. Our goal is to obtain 10,000 signatures by the fall 2012, and present the petition to the Yukon Legislature." The petition asks the government to ban the importation and growing of GM seeds, and the importation of GM animals.
On November 26 2007 a petition asking for a 10-year moratorium on the planting of genetically modified seeds in the Yukon was tabled in the Yukon Legislature by Steve Nordick of the Yukon Party. “We are very fortunate in the Yukon because we are one of the only places in North America that can still choose to keep our local environment relatively free of GE seed. Being GE contaminant free is vital to some of our businesses and opens other possibilities to us,” says local farmer Tom Rudge.
