| CANADIANS WANT CONTROL OVER IMPORTS OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS January 21, 200 from a press release OTTAWA -- A national poll conducted for The Council of Canadians by Environics Research Group shows that three-quarters of those familiar with genetically engineered foods are worried about their safety and that 94% feel Canada should be able to refuse to import GE foods if there are concerns about health or environmental safety. The telephone poll, which surveyed 902 Canadians between December 22, 1999 and January 16, 2000, is accurate within 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. ``This has dramatic implications for Canada's current policy of promoting the production and trade of GE foods,'' said Peter Bleyer, Executive Director of the Council of Canadians. ``On the one hand, our government wants strong international trade rules guaranteeing the export of Canadian genetically engineered foods into European and other countries; on the other hand, overwhelmingly, the majority of Canadians familiar with GE foods doesn't want to give up our right to refuse them. ``Why is our government pursuing a trade agenda for GE foods that nearly every informed Canadian would reject?'' said Bleyer. ``And why aren't we front and centre in supporting efforts to ensure a strong Biosafety Protocol and other initiatives that could prevent such unsafe foods from entering the country?'' Next week over 30 environment ministers from around the world will meet in Montreal to finalize an international Biosafety Protocol. The Protocol could regulate the transboundary movement of genetically engineered goods, including GE foods. Federal Environment Minister David Anderson has refused to take part. ``Given Canadians' strong wish to control the import of GE foods, you would think that our own federal environment minister would be in the vanguard of efforts to protect Canadians from the dangers of trade in genetically engineered goods,'' said Jennifer Story, Health Protection Campaigner with the Council. Members of the Council of Canadians will be in Montreal during the Biosafety Protocol negotiations. The Council has been spearheading a national consumer campaign to have GE foods removed from store shelves until they are proven safe to eat. |