more damn gmos, this time it's apples

If you're in Canada, you might want to have a look at this:

The small BC company called Okanagan Specialty Fruits has just submitted their request to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for approval of their GM “non-browning” apple. Contamination from GM apples threatens the future of our apples, and the farmers who grow them.

Take Action

(New Deadline!) Before July 3, 2012: Send your comments to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at http://active.inspection.gc.ca/eng/plaveg/bio/subs/biocome.asp

• Tell the government that you don’t want to eat a GM apple!
• GM apples are not wanted by consumers
• BC apple growers have already rejected the GM apple
• Contamination from GM apples is a risk to Canadian apple producers
• The CFIA and Health Canada should not be wasting public funds reviewing a GM apple that no one wants
• The government should consult with farmers and consumers before it approves any new GM crop

You can see the summary of information the company has submitted to the CFIA to request approval of the GM apple. The submission remains secret and is not available to the public.

More Actions

Send the action alert by email - Click here for the text.

Join the campaign! If you are in BC contact the Okanagan Greens to join the campaign.

Elsewhere in Canada, contact CBAN.

CBAN is working with Bee SAFE, GE Free BC, Okanagan Greens Society, True Food Foundation, and Vigilance OGM to stop the GM apple.

Background

The GM “non-browning” apple is engineered to keep from going brown after being cut. This apple is designed for fast food companies and other companies that use pre-cut apples. The technology was developed in Australia and licensed by the small BC company called Okanagan Specialty Fruits.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits asked for approval in the US in March 2010 and has just asked for approval in Canada. The GM apple has not yet been approved anywhere in the world.

What do apple growers think about the GM apple?

Read the comments to the CFIA from Similkameen Okanagan Organic Treefruit Growers Association, BC.

In 2001, BC apple growers stopped the GM apple from being field tested in Canada. The federal government agricultural station in Summerland in the Okanagan valley, an important fruit growing area, was preparing to start field trials but BC growers who were concerned about contamination stopped these field trials from happening.

In September 2011 CBAN and organizations from across BC organized a series of public events to discuss genetic engineering. At an event in Keremeos, Lee McFadyen of Mariposa Organic Farm and the Live Earth Organic Growers Association pointed out that there are already several varieties of apple that don’t brown. Orchardist Andrea Turner of the Similkameen Okanagan Organic Producers Association said, “The tree fruit industry cannot afford anything silly like that”.

More info can be found at the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network {CBAN} website

Sláinte!

Laurel