There's still time to register for online participation in the conference about the conflict between public policy and independent science, in honour of Dr Árpád Pusztai (1930–2021), which starts tomorrow (26 May) and goes on until Saturday. There's a stellar lineup of speakers. Claire from GMWatch will be going in person – we hope to see some of you there!

 

 

In early May the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, approved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) guidance or recommendations on gene-edited seed, essentially deciding not to regulate these seeds, and also not to let consumers know when seeds have been gene edited. More specifically, those genetically modified seeds — known as “Plants with Novel Traits” (PNTs) — that do not introduce foreign DNA will no longer be regulated by the CFIA. Prior to this change, all of these seeds were regulated under the CFIA’s Seed Regulation. Now, instead, biotech companies and product developers modifying and selling these seeds will be allowed to "voluntarily" disclose information, but will not be obligated to do so. It also means, of course, that the CFIA will not have access to this information or data either — unless these corporations decided they should. rabble.ca

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible by readers’ donations. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you!