SERIES:
2005-01-25 Transgenics (GMO’s): New documentary, “Genetic Matrix”
2005-09-12 Monsanto – Video sows seeds of controversy, Univ of Manitoba (University blocks distribution of the film.)
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Prairie farmers consulted on GM wheat, U of M student leading independent study. Winnipeg Free Press
By Helen Fallding
THOUSANDS of rural residents across the Prairies are being asked what they think of genetically modified wheat in the first independent survey about the controversial new grain.
University of Manitoba PhD student Ian Mauro is distributing 11,000 questionnaires to rural addresses in high-wheat-growing areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Farmers will be asked whether they would grow Monsanto’s new Roundup Ready Wheat, which is resistant to the company’s popular Roundup weed killer. It has not yet been approved for sale.
The farmers will also get a chance to say whether they are interested in other kinds of genetically modified wheat still under development, for example one resistant to the fusarium disease causing huge headaches for farmers.
Mauro and professor Stéphane McLachlan will also query farmers about what kinds of regulations or farming practices would help make the new technology work better.
The Canadian Wheat Board has rejected genetically modified wheat, saying most customers do not want it. Monsanto has promised not to introduce Roundup Ready Wheat until there is a way to segregate it from conventional wheat.
Rural residents who are not farmers will also be asked for their opinions, since their communities could be severely impacted by any international embargo, Mauro said.
“This issue is probably one of the hottest issues in rural communities in Canada.”
He hopes people will take the time to fill out the 12-page survey due back by March 15.
Some farmers may have been asked before by marketing companies whether they would sow genetically modified crops, but those results are generally not available to the public.
“We are completely independent,” Mauro said, noting there is no industry funding for the survey.
About $30,000 in expenses will be covered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council.
Farm groups often speak for farmers on the issue of genetically modified crops, but have occasionally been accused of having too close ties to the biotech industry.
Mauro said it’s important to get “as close to the field as possible” to find out what farmers really think.
He hopes to publish results of the survey by early fall.
McLachlan said future research will explore why genetically modified canola seems to work well for some farmers, while others complain of weed problems.