Good afternoon.
My name is Jim Lintott, and I am the chairman of the Manitoba Forage Council. I wish to thank the government and this committee for the opportunity to speak to you on this important issue on behalf of the many producers and farm families in Manitoba.
The Forage Council is a non-profit organization comprised of over 400 producers, agribusiness, researchers, and extension leaders who are dedicated to the development and promotion of a sustainable hay, forage, and livestock industry. The Manitoba Forage Council board of directors consists of 20 members.
Our presentation repeats the opinions already expressed here today, but it's important that you understand that we all feel the same way and that the information we give is similar.
We represent the interests of farmers who produce dry hay, processed hay, and hay extracts for both domestic and foreign export markets to support production in the beef, dairy, sheep, goat, and horse industries.
The Forage Council supports the implementation of Bill C-474. Shortly after the release of Roundup Ready alfalfa in the United States, the Forage Council developed a position paper protesting that development. In May of 2008, the Forage Council wrote a letter to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requesting a moratorium on further testing of Roundup Ready alfalfa until a complete environmental and economic assessment could be completed with all sectors of the forage industry.
We see Bill C-474 as a way to plug a hole in a leaky industry. I personally am a mixed farmer. I grow canola, wheat, and alfalfa, and I raise cattle. Many of the forage producers we represent in Manitoba are like me. We understand both sides of this issue. We do not expect or want this bill to adversely affect those crop sectors that already have a major GMO content--that horse has already left the barn--but we need this committee to understand that growing alfalfa is fundamentally different from growing those annual crops. Forage producers support Bill C-474 because we believe it would have the ability to protect the alfalfa industry from the truly dangerous effects of introducing GMO varieties that are not approved by our customers.
Alfalfa is a perennial crop. Alfalfa producers know that you cannot contain the spread of alfalfa. Seeds and pollen get spread by water, wildlife, and insects to cultivated land, to roadside ditches, to parklands. If the alfalfa is genetically modified, this spread then creates a reservoir for the GMO gene in the feral, or wild, plant population.
Alfalfa seeds can lie dormant in the soil, on both cropland and non-agricultural cropland, only to germinate many years later to create a new source of GMO genes. At that point, there is nothing to stop that GMO gene from moving back into other crop production. In Manitoba 40% of our agricultural land is in forage production. The feral alfalfa is everywhere in our environment. If we use GM alfalfa, we will no longer know where the gene resides--until it is too late to do anything about it.
Who will this affect? The organic producers, livestock producers, forage producers, forage seed producers, the alfalfa fractionation industry, and the alfalfa sprouting industry will all be affected by your decisions. The reach is wide and the effect is huge.
In the organic industry, there is zero tolerance for GMO contamination. A producer of organic crops and vegetables needs to ensure that the plow-down crops, such as alfalfa, which provide the nitrogen to grow the crops, are free of GMOs. The dairy producer of organic cheese has to be able to guarantee that the milk produced from the hay is also free of GMO genes.
Food is a very integrated production cycle. The organic industry, though small, is currently a $28-billion industry worldwide. It's a $2-billion industry in Canada, the bulk of it in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec, the top three producing provinces. Organic forages and pastures are the second-largest in acreage, narrowly tied with grains and oilseeds. However, there is no organic canola production in Canada.
The organic industry is growing at an astonishing 19% per year, so clearly this industry will be devastated by the presence of an uncontrollable GMO gene.
Alfalfa, and its associated mixed hay, is becoming a major export item, both overseas and to the U.S.A. Many countries are beginning to recognize the need to focus their own production on higher-value crops such as vegetables. They are looking to Canada to supply large quantities of alfalfa hay, and in Manitoba we are quite excited by this opportunity. Some of that demand, though, will be for non-GMO hay, and much of it will move out through the Port of Churchill.
Our forage seed industry will be the first and most dramatically affected by any GMO contamination. This industry is very important, sustaining many farm families throughout Manitoba and, in fact, throughout western Canada. The organic and export industries in areas of livestock, alfalfa fractionation, and alfalfa sprouting will all face similar non-GMO restrictions.
The rejection due to the unintended presence of the GMO gene is a concern for all these producers. The challenge in controlling this happening in the forage industry is, in our view, insurmountable. The simple act of growing GMO alfalfa will provide a multitude of avenues for the gene to escape the intended production and become an unwanted presence in all production.
Genetically modified crop production is highly controversial. At least 35 countries have adopted mandatory labelling for any product that has been genetically modified. Many countries will not accept any agricultural products that have been contaminated by GMOs.
It is believed by some that GMO production will become so pervasive that the consumer will not have any choice, but concern about food safety in an industrialized world is growing. This is evidenced by an increase in demand for organic foods, a swelling of public objections to GM foods, and the requirement in many countries for food labelling to show the origin of food and the method of production and processing.
We need to be able to deliver to buyers the product they want. It is not our job to determine if their demands are valid or not. If the buyer accepts our product, the trade will flourish. If the buyer says “no” on the basis of the presence of GMOs, we have to ask ourselves if we have the capacity and the ability to produce and deliver the desired non-GMO products. To keep and expand those markets, we cannot ignore the regulatory decisions made in other countries.
The perception that Canada is a pristine and clean environment for the production of food is slowly being eroded. The introduction of unwanted GMOs is affecting not only the direct sale of crop and seed production, but also the sale of value-added products. I want to point out that although there is no question that the Triffid flax situation has cost Canadian farmers and exporters a lot of money and their reputation, it has cost our customers, who then move that flax into value-added production, a far greater amount of money. Those customers will not easily forget what they have paid for buying Canadian.
Manitoba forage producers are not against scientific research, nor are we opposed to the use of genetically modified crops. We simply believe that because of the controversy and the current market rejection of GMO products, any crop not currently being produced commercially as a genetically modified crop should have a market impact study prior to the release of such a variety.
The concerns you have heard expressed about this bill are primarily around the regulatory system that could flow from that bill. No one wants a regulatory system that would prevent us from moving forward with new and exciting traits that the world wants and would welcome. The solution to this is the establishment of a regulatory body that includes all stakeholders. The canola industry has this type of importer input, but what it lacks is the legal requirement for action that Bill C-474 would provide.
We further believe that the market impact analysis required by this bill will be positive, as GMO developers will focus the work and investments on traits that our customers want and will accept. Through the passing of this bill and the establishment of a regulatory body that is stakeholder-driven, Canada would have the opportunity to enhance its domestic and export leadership in agriculture.
In summary, I would say three things on behalf of the Manitoba Forage Council. The forage producers of Manitoba want Parliament to pass Bill C-474. The forage producers of Manitoba want the implementation of a regulatory system behind Bill C-474that is both stakeholder-driven and flexible. The forage producers of Manitoba want to stop the introduction of Roundup Ready alfalfa.
Thank you again for this opportunity to present to this committee. I look forward to the question-and-answer period.