Tuesday, April 3, 2001; national post; A7;

'Wheat Producers want modified seed blocked'; by Les Perreaux.

www.nationalpost.com

The Canadian Wheat Board is asking the federal government to
block Monsanto and other companies from selling genetically altered wheat
seed amid fears the grain will destroy Canada's most important export
markets.

Board officials and farm groups say countries that pay a premium for
high-quality Canadian wheat, such as Britain, Italy and Japan, will find
other export nations that are free of the genetically modified grain if it
is released in Canada.

"Customers are telling us that they don't want this product at all. The
worst-case scenario would be that Australia would get all the premium
markets. We would lose our European customers immediately which are our
highest-paying customers. You may not even be able to ship wheat out of the
country," said Earl Geddes, a vice-president of the federal marketing board
that sells wheat for Canadian farmers.

Monsanto Inc. plans to introduce Roundup Ready wheat to Canada by 2005.
Genes spliced from other plants allow the wheat to survive Roundup
herbicide. The spray is deadly to most plants but relatively benign to other
organisms, saving farmers time and money in weed control.

The company must gain regulatory approval from the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency and Health Canada before the new grain can be introduced. Mr. Geddes
and the board want the federal government to change the law to consider
market acceptance before registering the grain. Wheat board officials are in
Ottawa this week to appear before the Commons standing committee on
agriculture.

"Until we can identify some market demand that is beneficial for farmers,
until we can segregate it properly, we shouldn't be registering it," Mr.
Geddes said.

Monsanto has promised to develop a way of separating the new crop from
traditional varieties of wheat. Trish Jordan, a Monsanto spokeswoman, said
it will be impossible to keep grain 100% free of the altered wheat once it is 
widely used.

"To be able to say 0%, that's impossible. We've been quite open about that.
If countries are saying zero, there is no way we can do that. If there is a
reaasonable tolerance level - 1%, 3% - we can make that work," she said.

Ian Cushon, an organic farmer near Oxbow, Sask., said such a level of
tolerance will damage his industry.

"Our market has already established a zero tolerance for genetically
modified organisms in organic products. What Monsanto has stated isn't going
to give us what we need to keep it out," he said.