| Canadians want the federal government to pursue controversial plant molecular farming (PMF) technologies, according to a public consultation conducted by Dr. Edna Einsiedel, a communications professor at the University of Calgary. During October 2006 through February 2007, Einsiedel conducted face-to-face consultations with 12 panelists from Western Canada and online consultations with 400 participants from across the country. The panel produced a report cautiously supporting the implementation of PMF technologies.
The report’s hesitance stems from economic and environmental risks surrounding the technology and, more importantly, its potential impacts on human health. "It is very controversial for a variety of reasons: human safety, safety of wildlife and environmental contamination and even around the economics of PMF," says Einsiedel. "The group recommends the government provide a permanent regulatory framework to pursue this technology – essentially, it is seen as a good technology, but only if we are cautious and safe."
The technology, an innovative twist on the more familiar genetically modified organism (GMO) technology, is essentially engineering plants to become factories for the production of pharmaceutical and industrial materials. Unlike the United States, where commercial PMF production has already occurred, Canada has exercised the precautionary principle and has not approved any commercial operations. Instead, a body of interim regulations guides research in laboratories and, in some cases, confined field trials across the country.
The federal government is pursuing permanent regulation, but has only consulted industrial stakeholders so far. Dr. Einsiedel’s consultation sought to include other stakeholders – in this case the public – in the process.
"The federal government put regulations in place in terms of confinement, containment, and the types of crops used, but they are only interim regulations," says Einsiedel. "The government now wants to implement permanent regulations and it is looking to this sort of consultation as a guide."
In an effort to guide policy effectively, the 12 member panel produced a comprehensive report to outline its concerns. Perhaps most contentious was deciding what plants are to be used. This contention is justified. In 2002, a U.S. company operating commercially was responsible for the contamination of over 40 hectares of Nebraskan cornfield. The notion that biologically produced industrial material could end up in breakfast cereals was enough to deter the panel from recommending commercial operations using major food crops. The panel did recommend commercial use of minor food crops, however.
That food crops are being used leaves many stakeholders feeling that the implementation process is being derailed. These groups, such as Greenpeace, insist that genetic engineering in our food is irresponsible and shortsighted. But it may be that the risk of using any other plant is too high – food crops are well studied and scientists know how they will react. The same cannot necessarily be said of an abundant but unstudied weed.
"Why use plants? Why use food crops?" Einsiedel asks rhetorically. "Many think that plants can produce these materials for much cheaper than current practices, and we know the genetics and biology of food crops more than the available alternatives."
Ian Mauro, a filmmaker and doctoral student at the University of Manitoba, had his PMF documentary, Seeds of Change, premiere in Calgary just as Einsiedel publicized her results. His film consults perhaps the most important group of stakeholders in this process – agricultural producers – and reaches conclusions similar to those outlined in Einsiedel’s report. "Farmers face a complex decision process," says Mauro of his research. "They want to do what is right for the environment and for all stakeholders – they are the stewards of our environment. But they also need to make money to survive."
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is currently developing permanent regulations for commercial production, but no timeline for the process has been made available. |
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