Stop GMO Garden Seeds

Protect Our Seeds from New GMOs

A new threat to organic farmers and seed savers is looming: Genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) fruit and vegetable seeds are being marketed to small growers and home gardeners in Canada.

What’s at risk:

Organic and other non-GMO seed
The tradition of seed saving
Preservation of heritage seeds
Trust in our seeds
Some export markets

CBAN Factsheet – January 2026: Alert: Genetically Modified Garden Seeds

CBAN Press Release – December 16, 2025: Farmers warn home gardeners about genetically engineered vegetable seeds coming soon

Genetically modified “Purple Tomato” tomatoes have been approved for growing and eating in Canada. The GM tomato seeds are available to purchase online by growers in Canada via the website of a small U.S. biotechnology company. The GM tomatoes could be sold in grocery stores in Canada starting in 2026, distributed by the company Red Sun Farms. GM Product Alert – December 15, 2025- Updated January 5, 2026: Genetically Engineered Purple Tomato Seeds & Fruit Approved in Canada.

Share the information at your Seedy Saturday event, market booth, or other community event: Click here to order your “Stop GMO Garden Seeds” pamphlets.

Take Action to Stop GM Garden Seeds

January 2026: The first genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) garden seeds, GM “Purple Tomato” seeds, are now available for purchase by growers in Canada through online sales from a small US biotechnology company. They are not clearly identified as genetically modified. Other GM garden seeds could soon become sold on biotechnology company websites, from seed vendors, in seed catalogues, and in garden centres. It is unclear if or how they will be distinguished from non-GM seeds.

Here are some important actions you can take to stop GM garden seeds from entering our food system and seed supply:

Are you attending a Seedy event in 2026? Do you have a farm stand or run a market booth? Order our special “Stop GMO Garden Seeds” pamphlet to distribute in your community or to your customers.
Write to your favourite seed companies to make sure they are pledging non-GMO.
Write to your garden centre and tell them not to carry any GMO garden seeds or seedlings. (If you shop at a garden centre at a grocery store, click here for grocery store contacts.)
Subscribe to CBAN’s campaign listserv for relevant updates and action alerts

Take Action to Stop the GM “Purple Tomato”

Take a simple yet effective action to stop GM purple tomatoes from entering Canadian grocery stores. Your voice as a customer is a powerful one.

Write to the head office of your grocery store chain and tell them to commit to selling only non-GMO produce. Tell them to ensure they do not sell any GM purple tomatoes or any gene-edited fruits and vegetables. Click here to get the contact email address for your grocery store.

Background

CBAN Briefing – January 2026: Alert: Genetically Modified Garden Seeds

Companies are testing consumer and farmer acceptance to launch GM fruit and vegetable seeds and foods; some made with the new genetic engineering (genetic modification or GM) techniques of gene-editing. Two biotechnology companies have already started selling a limited amount of GM garden seeds in the US and one variety (a GM tomato) is now also available for purchase by growers in Canada: GM purple tomato seeds and GM gene-edited romaine seeds.

There are only three genetically modified fruits and vegetables currently on the market in Canada, with a very marginal presence in grocery stores: GM sweet corn, GM papaya, and GM pink pineapple. Until now, genetic engineering in our diets has been dominated by processed food ingredients from GM corn, GM canola, GM soy and GM sugar beet, but this could start to change. The only genetically engineered vegetable currently grown in Canada is GE sweet corn, with seeds only sold in quantities for larger-scale growers.

If farmers and consumers do not take action now, there are a number of genetically modified fruits and vegetables that could soon be released into our food system and seed supply. There are four GM products that are at immediate risk of being introduced, and small packets of GM purple tomato seeds are already available for purchase online by growers in Canada.

GM Purple Tomato ™ seeds from the US company Norfolk Healthy Produce (seeds are for sale online).
GM gene-edited mustard green seeds from the multinational company Bayer (formerly Monsanto).*
GM gene-edited romaine seeds from the small US company GreenVenus.*
GM gene-edited strawberries from the multinational company Simplot.*

* No government product approval is required. These gene-edited seeds and foods will not be assessed for safety Canada or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. For details see cban.ca/NoExemptions

Lack of Government Regulation

In 2022/2023, the Canadian government removed pre-market regulation for most GM gene-edited plants if they do not contain DNA from other species. Unlike the genetically modified “Purple Tomato” which contains DNA from snapdragon flowers, most new GM gene-edited seeds will not go through any government approval process. This means that most future gene-edited seeds can be released without any government environmental or food safety assessments.

There is also no mandatory requirement for companies to disclose or identify their unregulated GM seeds. These GM seeds can be released without notifying the government or public. There is no government tracking. This could lead to the release and spread of unidentified, unregulated GM seeds and foods.

Gene editing techniques are new ways to genetically engineer plants and animals to express new traits. These techniques, such as CRISPR, aim to delete DNA segments or otherwise change a DNA sequence. Unlike traditional plant and animal breeding, genetic engineering makes changes directly to the genetic make-up of organisms in the laboratory. Read more in the briefing Gene editing is genetic engineering.

The GM Contamination Threat & Patents

The sale of GM garden seeds constitutes a direct attack on organic food and farming, and a threat to Canada’s seed supply. If genetically modified garden seeds are sold, there is a high likelihood they will contaminate seed stocks and end up, unwanted, in gardens and on farms across Canada.

Contamination from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a threat to the tradition and ongoing practice of seed-saving and the preservation of heritage seeds. It is also a threat to organic farmers and the future of organic food because organics prohibits the use of GMOs.

Read about contamination risks of GM garden seeds from Bob Wildfong from Seeds of Diversity, written in response to Bayer’s proposed release of GM mustard green seeds (now stalled).

Companies control these GM seeds through patents, but we do not know how these companies will enforce their intellectual property rights. For example, the genetically modified Purple Tomato™ is patented, but the company Norfolk Healthy Produce invites people to freely save, replant and share the seeds from the GM fruit, as long as they do not sell the fruit, seeds or plants.

Choose Non-GMO Garden Seeds

Update – January 2026: For the first time, genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) seeds could soon be for sale to home gardeners. GM “Purple Tomato” seeds could be for sale in 2026 and other GM vegetable seeds could follow, such as gene-edited mustard seeds.

There are many ways to make sure you are buying only non-GMO garden seeds, including non-GMO purple tomatoes. All organic seeds are, by definition, non-GMO and there are also many other local, ecological seed growers that provide non-GMO seeds. Click here to find seed companies that are committed to non-GMO seeds.