The biotechnology and pesticide industry lobby group CropLife Canada has just launched . The new industry PR website has been published just before Health Canada is expected to propose that some products of gene editing can skip government regulation.
Health Canada will soon propose changes to how it assesses the risks of genetically engineered foods. There will be a 60-day public comment period. Stay tuned to CBAN for updates and to take action.
The new corporate website opens with the boldly false statement that “Gene editing is a proven solution for making healthier food, stronger crops and increasing yields all while using fewer resources.” The techniques are not proven. They are not even commercialized. In fact, the scientific literature is still investigating all the possible ways that gene editing techniques can create unexpected effects, and how to detect and evaluate problems. The techniques of gene editing are new and can cause genetic errors.
This is a new corporate “campaign”. The website says, “This campaign is supported by organizations and individuals who want Canada, and its citizens to reap the economic, environmental, and consumer bene铿乼s of agricultural innovations like gene editing.”
The website is dominated by tales of speculative applications of gene editing for health and environmental benefits. These stories are told in a way that suggests the products are already real, or that the benefits are inevitable. This fiction mirrors media stories that report theoretical ideas of how gene editing could be used.聽
This website is part of a global corporate campaign to characterize the new genetic engineering techniques of gene editing as “new plant breeding” and advocate for the removal of regulation.
Get ready to take action with us in response to the government’s upcoming consultation. Stay tuned to this e-news or check for updates on coming proposals from Health Canada.
Genome Editing
Read about genome editing, also called gene editing: it is genetic engineering, it’s risky, and it needs to be regulated.
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