GE Alfalfa

The Canadian Government has approved Monsanto’s herbicide resistant (Roundup Ready) alfalfa for human consumption and environmental release but it is not yet legal to sell GM alfalfa seeds in Canada. Variety registration is needed before the crop can be commercially grown in Canada.

Click here to see information on the current campaign and action you can take.

Was Monsanto waiting for the rules to change? The Canadian Food Inspection Agency recently changed the variety registration process. CBAN produced a guide to these consultations and objected to the changes because we see that they would allow GE crop varieties to be approved quickly, without the safeguards for farmers established through the variety registration process. The CFIA calls this “seed modernization.”

The introduction of GE alfalfa is of great concern to organic farmers who grow this crops as part of their rotation, and to dairy farmers who feed alfalfa to their cows.

Click here to read the position paper on GE Alfalfa of CBAN Member the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate.