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EARTH ACTION 81 Prince Street Charlottetown PEI C1A 4R3 Tel: 902-621-0719 Email: slabchuk@isn.net MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 30, 1999 PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND POTATO INDUSTRY HELP FAST-TRACK MONSANTO'S GM POTATOES THROUGH REGULATORY SYSTEM Charlottetown - The provincial government and the PEI potato industry participated in backroom meetings with Monsanto and federal food regulators which resulted in two varieties of genetically modified potatoes being fast-tracked through the regulatory approval system, says Earth Action spokesperson Sharon Labchuk. Information about the private deal between Monsanto and the federal government was obtained under the Access to Information Act by Ottawa-based researcher Ken Rubin and publicized on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen on November 30. "Confidence in Canada's food safety system is at an all time low," says Labchuk. "This year Health Canada scientists blew the whistle on corporate pressure tactics to approve inadequately tested products like BGH. Then Canada's Commissioner of the Environment revealed our pesticide regulatory system is seriously deficient Just two weeks ago, 200 Health Canada scientists signed a petition warning that there are not enough scientists on staff to properly evaluate genetically modified foods. And now this." According to information obtained by Rubin, approval for the two new GM potatoes was held up because Monsanto refused to provide key scientific information to regulators assessing the potatoes' health and environment effects. But potato growers wanted the GM potatoes approved quickly so that they could plant them in the coming season. So potato growers from PEI, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Alberta, along with deputy ministers of agriculture from PEI and New Brunswick organized a meeting in February with federal officials. Another meeting was held in March, chaired by PEI deputy minister of agriculture Rory Francis, this time with senior Monsanto executives in attendance. "They cooked up a deal where, in exchange for Monsanto coughing up the data government wanted, the GM potatoes would be fast-tracked through the safety approval system. In fact the GM potatoes were on the market in less than two months," says Labchuk. "It's very disappointing that deputy minister of agriculture Rory Francis and the PEI potato growers would be party to this kind of distasteful backroom dealing, especially when it could affect human health and the environment. This further substantiates popular public opinion that government and industry put profits ahead of ethics." In the Ottawa Citizen article, Dr. Michelle Brill-Edwards, a former Health Canada drug regulator and critic of the system said, "What you're seeing is a high-level example of a very dirty game that practically nobody knows about. These kinds of meetings go on all the time and it's almost never captured because people are careful not to let this kind of thing be known." Labchuk says Agriculture Minister Eric Hammill's recent remarks in the legislature about making sure farmers control the agriculture agenda rather than "some environmental group", coupled with his department's interference in the federal food safety regulatory system reveal a flagrant disregard for public safety and environmental protection. "Both Hammill and Francis should do the honourable thing and resign." - 30 - Contact: Sharon Labchuk 902-621-0719 Note: We have a copy of the document obtained by Ken Rubin and can fax it. ******************************** Sharon Labchuk Earth Action 81 Prince Street Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4R3 Phone: 902-368-7337 / 621-0719 Fax: 902-621-0719 slabchuk@isn.net -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- The preceding message was posted on Sustainable Maritimes (sust-mar) -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Questions about sust-mar? Problems? Email <sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> Please remember to UNSUBSCRIBE if your email account is changing, or if you are going away. To leave the list, just send email to <majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca> As the text of your message, type only "unsubscribe sust-mar" (without quotes)
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