Organic farmers were prominent in anti-GMO-alfalfa rallies
in Red Deer, Alta., Welland and Waterloo Tuesday, but retired University-of-Guelph professor Ann
Clark says it’s conventional farmers who have the most to lose.
Monsanto is awaiting a decision from the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency on its application to market a variety of alfalfa developed
to resist Roundup weed killer.
Clark certainly caught my attention when she said during a CBC – Kitchener
interview this morning that the new alfalfa might show up in fields where farmers
are planting Roundup-Ready varieties of corn and soybeans and grow to maturity, shedding seeds that
will grow more Roundup-resistant alfalfa for years to come.
It could be a really challenging weed.
She said nothing about the risks to organic farmers.
Maybe that's because alfalfa is grown almost exclusively as a
forage crop in Ontario so there is no seed production.
Most alfalfa seed is grown in the Peace River area of
Alberta and British Columbia.
Organic farmers interviewed by CBC – Kitchener at the office
of MP Peter Braid said they will face greater difficulty sourcing
organic-standard hay if Monsanto’s variety is approved for sale.
I have difficulty understanding that concern because those producing organic hay are presumably never planting GMO alfalfa varieties. And if they're harvesting it has hay, long before seeds mature, there would be no cross-contamination in their hay.
No farmers who grow GMO crops have been featured in any
urban-media reports on the issue. If Clark is right, they should speak up - soon.
