Watershed Sentinel, May 9, 2024. The US & Canada trade challenge of Mexico's restrictions on GM corn exposes the biotechnology industry agenda of control.

Food Tank. March 5, 2024. The U.S. and Canada essentially argue that if they have decided a genetically modified food is safe, then Mexico should agree. But research continues to find indicators of potential harm to humans from eating GM insect-resistant corn, and the science also continues to warn of health impacts from exposure to the herbicide glyphosate which is used in GM corn production.

Watershed Sentinel. November 2023. Media investigations in 2022 and 2023 uncovered a trail of documents showing that federal government departments worked directly with the biotechnology industry to design the new regulatory guidance for gene-edited GMOs, in a committee they called the “Tiger Team.”

Watershed Sentinel, October/November 2023. In May and June of this year, I was part of an international delegation to Brazil organized by the International Campaign to Stop GE Trees. We travelled around the states of Espirito Santo, Bahia, and Mato Grosso do Sul — epicentres of the production of eucalyptus trees destined to become pulp, paper, biofuels, and other products shipped around the world.

The Hill Times, Opinion. September 11, 2023. The emergence of new genetic engineering techniques for food and farming renewed the deregulation ambitions of the biotechnology industry. The federal government has responded quickly with a hands-off approach. However, the use of new genomic technologies in our food system, such as gene editing, demands strong regulatory oversight.

Watershed Sentinel, November 2022. The promise of a simple technological fix is compelling. Whether it is world hunger or climate change, companies have promised that genetic engineering (genetic modification or GM) can come to the rescue. Successful or not, this “rescue” comes at price.

CounterPunch. September 2022. The release of genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) trees is closer than it has ever been. Ironically, it could be the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) that opens the door to the commercialization of GE trees.

Watershed Sentinel, October 2, 2022: The global threat of genetically engineered (GE) trees is closer than ever. Ironically, it could be the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) — the organization that describes itself as “the original pioneers of forest certification” and claims to “promote the responsible management of the world’s forests” — that may open the door to the commercialization of GE trees.

The Hill Times, September 2022: The Minister of Health recently allowed Health Canada to give up its role as independent regulator when it comes to the safety of many future genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) foods, and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is contemplating a similar set of proposals on seeds from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Letter to the Editor, Published in the Toronto Sun, June 2, 2022 Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos has very recently allowed Health Canada to give up its role as independent regulator when it comes to the safety of some genetically modified (GM) foods. The decision...