Ottawa's GM food plan faces criticism

Some observers aren't impressed by a new federal action plan on the future of food biotechnology, which is Ottawa's response to the Royal Society of Canada's Expert Scientific Panel Report on the Safety of Genetically Modified (GM) Foods. Greenpeace representative Eric Darier describes it as “a whitewash” that “fails to absorb the critical analysis of the Royal Society,” but the panel cochairs were a bit more diplomatic.

“It was lukewarm at best,” says Brian Ellis, a plant biochemist at the University of British Columbia.

“There were no big surprises in the action plan,” adds Conrad Brunk, an academic dean at the University of Waterloo who specializes in environmental and bioethical issues. “My general feeling is that it is a step in the right direction. The question is, will it keep moving along? It is very noncommittal.”

But a Health Canada spokesperson defended Ottawa's response. “I guess it's an issue of interpretation,” says Paul Mayers, director of food policy integration.The federal government had asked the Royal Society to assemble an expert panel to provide scientific advice on the regulatory process and development of GM foods. In its report, the panel made 53 detailed recommendations that ranged from increasing the transparency of the regulatory process to monitoring the long-term effects of GM organisms on human health and the environment.

“We made many specific recommendations, and the action plan doesn't commit to [many] of them,” says Brunk. “The action plan tends to give them a lot of wiggle room.”

However, Mayers says the plan provides an agreement to work with external experts and members of the expert panel and to share information with other countries. “We're not closing the door to any particular mechanism.”

Ellis remains concerned about accountability. “They say they will be reporting back on their progress, but who are they reporting to? And in what fashion?”

Mayers counters that the federal government will report on progress to all Canadians “through the same mechanism as the action plan.”