Phillip Woodhouse, president of the Grey County chapter of
the National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) says genetically-modified sweet
corn ought to be labeled so consumers know what they’re buying and eating.
He said some people have concerns about the long-term
effects of genetically-modified crops, so they ought to be labeled.
The sweet corn carries a gene that makes Bacillus
thuriengensis (Bt) which kills worms.
It is, ironically, a product that organic growers are
allowed to use as a spray to protect their crops from insect losses.
There has never been any scientific evidence that Bt harms
people or the environment.
But I guess Woodhouse's amateur concerns about some nebulous long-term impact that he can't identify is worthy of raising alarms about the sweet corn our farmers are marketing. It's more evidence that the NFU-O is a maverick organization with miniscule credibility.
In the 1990s, Dr. Doug Powell, a food-safety communications
expert, and Jeff Wilson, who farms north of Ariss, ran a consumer trial
offering a choice between Bt and non-Bt sweet corn.
Consumers showed a clear preference for sweet corn without
worms. So do I.
Woodhouse’s position is reported on the Blackburn News
website.
