Biotech Facts

Fiction: Biotech companies are patenting life forms – genes.

Facts:

• Genes cannot be patented. The inventor who seeks a patent must show new, useful and non-obvious uses for the gene. The specific use is patented.

Fiction: Biotech companies are patenting the genes they discover.

Facts:

• A discovery is the finding of something that already exists. Discoveries are not patentable.

Fiction: Biotech foods are unsafe to eat.

Fact:

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada have determined that biotech foods and crops are as safe as non-biotech foods and crops.

Fiction: Biotech crops increase food allergies.

Facts:

• There is no evidence that biotech crops increase food allergies. In fact, researchers are working to develop biotech foods that are free of known allergens, such as peanuts.

Fiction: The government’s testing for the safety of biotech foods is inadequate.

Facts:

• Before any GE crop or food product is permitted for sale, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada subject it to a number of rigorous safety assessments. These assessments ensure the product is safe for humans, animals and the environment. Result: it takes 7 to 10 years to develop, test and assess a new product.

Fiction: The government’s tests do not include field trials.

Fact:

• More than 5,000 field trials for genetically modified crops have been completed in Canada since 1988.

Fiction: The government does not monitor the long-term impacts of genetically modified crops.

Fact:

• Today’s field trials and follow-up monitoring are based on the research knowledge of over 5,000 field trials and research being done since the 1970s.

Fiction: Using biotechnology to improve plants is unnatural.

Fact:

• Since the Stone Age, farmers have used breeding techniques like selective breeding, hybridization and crossbreeding to genetically modify crops. Today’s biotechnology is the latest, most efficient & effective way to do so.

Fiction: Biotech crops harm the environment.

Fact:

• Biotech crops are not approved if there is evidence of environmental harm. Biotech crops have environmental benefits: they are bred to be better able to ward off diseases and pests. This means farmers can use fewer pesticides and herbicides. Biotech crops can also reduce the need for plowing to control weeds, which leads to better conservation of soil and water and less soil erosion.

Fiction: Farmers do not accept biotech crops.

Facts:

• Farmers in many countries accept and grow biotech crops. In 2003, farmers in 18 countries grew biotech crops on more than 167 million acres; their use of these crops has increased 40-fold since 1996. In 2003, Canada and Argentina each grew more than 10 million acres. In 2003, China and Brazil each grew more than 5 million acres.

Fiction: Biotech companies do not support the labeling of GE crops.

Facts:

• The top three crop producers, the U.S., Argentina and Canada, all have a voluntary labeling standard. A voluntary standard in Canada will allow for standardized, accurate information, and consumer choice when selecting products for purchase.

Partners