Jack
I was hoping to quetion Michael Meacher on Questiontime tonight but I have been unable to get a ticket. I hope to catch up with him soon. In the meantime here is a bit of good news from Canada, at least one NFU takes it job seriously.
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National Farmers Union [Canada]
National Office2717 Wentz Ave.Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 4B6
Tel (306) 652-9465
Fax (306) 664-6226
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEBRUARY 24, 2003
FARMERS SHOULD USE MARKET POWER TO STOP GM WHEAT
SASKATOON, Sask.-At a new conference in Saskatoon today, the NFU urged
farmers:
IF YOU DON'T WANT GM WHEAT DON'T BUY ROUNDUP
Monsanto wants government approval to introduce its genetically-modified
(GM) wheat. Monsanto's GM wheat is glyphosate resistant or "Roundup
Ready"-designed to be used with Monsanto's Roundup or another glyphosate
herbicide.
The international customers that buy 82% of Canada's wheat crop have said
that they will stop buying if Canada introduces GM wheat. In December 2002,
Monsanto pushed ahead with regulatory approval for GM wheat in Canada. The
vast majority of farmers do not want Monsanto to introduce GM wheat.
To stop GM wheat, the NFU is urging farmers to utilize a commercial
communications strategy. "Buying glyphosate from another company will send
a powerful market signal to Monsanto," said NFU President Stewart Wells.
"Farmers should rise to this challenge and use their market power to change
Monsanto's decision to force GM wheat onto the market."
"Farmers can't trust government to regulate the introduction of GM
wheat-governments are too busy promoting the GM food industry. If farmers
want to keep GM wheat out of our fields, if we want to protect our foreign
markets, we need to take direct action" said Wells.
RoundupT is Monsanto's brand-name for the herbicide glyphosate. Farmers
have choices when purchasing glyphosate-many companies sell a glyphosate
herbicide (see backgrounder). "Because there are alternative products,
farmers can easily switch brands," said Wells.
Monsanto lost over $2.5 billion [Cdn.$] in 2002. It attributed a
significant portion of that loss to reduced Roundup sales. "Monsanto is
sensitive to changes in Roundup sales. If farmers affect Monsanto's bottom
line and shareholders' profits, farmers can reverse Monsanto's decision to
force GM wheat onto the market," said Wells.
NFU member and Lancer-area farmer Ron Watson and NFU member and Swift
Current-area farmer Lyle Simonson joined Wells at the news conference today
in Saskatoon.
The NFU and other organizations will hold 11 town-hall meetings across
western Canada beginning February 26. At those meetings, experts will
explain the costs of GM wheat to farmers. As part of a multi-pronged
strategy to stop GM wheat, the NFU will urge farmers to consider their own
self-interests when making glyphosate purchase decisions.
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For More Information:
Stewart Wells, President: (306) 773-6852 or 741-7694
Ron Watson, NFU member: (306) 689-2633
Lyle Simonson, NFU member: (306) 553-2307
Darrin Qualman, Exec. Sec.: (306) 652-9465
BACKGROUNDER TO THE NFU'S FEBRUARY 24 NEWS RELEASE
What are the alternatives to Roundup?
In addition to Monsanto's Roundup, six companies make glyphosate products
registered for use in Canada. These products include:
Credit (Nufarm), Factor (IPCO), Glyfos (Cheminova), Maverick (Dow),
Touchdown (Syngenta), Vantage (Dow), Victor (Bayer)
Dow's Vantage products and Syngenta's Touchdown product are registered for
use "incrop" on Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola and other Roundup Ready
crops.
What are the costs of genetically-modified (GM) wheat?
Numerous costs will result from the introduction of GM wheat, including:
. Market loss Many of Canada's highest-paying foreign customers have said
they will stop buying Canadian wheat if we introduce GM varieties.
. Agronomic costs To control GM Roundup Ready wheat in GM Roundup Ready
canola (and vice versa) will require additional chemical applications
totalling up to $400 million per year for Canada's 20 million direct-seeded
acres.
. Segregation costs A segregation system based on a 1% tolerance (about the
level that some European countries are contemplating) may cost up to
$40/tonne (See below).
. Segregation-failure costs If a segregation system is tried and fails (if
key customers receive contaminated wheat), farmers could permanently lose
market premiums worth hundreds-of-millions of dollars per year.
. Seed and technology costs Monsanto charges farmers a $15 per acre
"technology use fee" for GM Roundup Ready canola. GM wheat will come with
similar costs.
Cost/benefit analyses by independent economists Furtan, Gray, and Holzman
of the University of Saskatchewan show that farmers' net incomes will fall
if Monsanto introduces GM Roundup Ready wheat: the costs far outweigh the
benefits.
Can we segregate GM wheat from non-GM?
Monsanto and others advocate a segregation system to deal with market
rejection. Segregation systems will not work, however, because the wheat
seed supply will quickly become contaminated and unreliable, and because
our bulk handling system is ill-equipped to segregate GM and non-GM wheat.
Tests on canola shows that most "non-GM" certified seed is contaminated by
GM varieties. The wheat seed supply will become similarly contaminated.
With contaminated seed, it becomes very difficult to run a segregation
system. If Monsanto introduces GM wheat, there will be no such thing as
non-GM wheat, merely wheat with varying levels of contamination.
Our grain handling system is ill-suited to segregate GM wheat from non-GM.
Our system is increasingly designed for bulk handling, high-throughput, and
100-railcar shipping. It currently has thousands of points of entry where
grain could be mis-represented, mixed, contaminated, mis-labelled, or
mis-directed.
Just one or two mistakes-just one or two instances of delivering
contaminated wheat to customers who demand GM-free wheat-could cost Canada
its reputation for grain quality and, thus, reduce all wheat farmers'
incomes by hundreds-of-millions of dollars per year. Further, many
customers have said that if Canada introduces GM varieties, they will stop
buying Canadian wheat, regardless of whether we try to segregate or not.