January 24, 2023:  Hundreds of farmers in the Prairies and across the country have sent seed packets in the mail to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. CBAN also send the packet to every Member of Parliament. The seed packets carry a message of warning that the sale of undisclosed GM seeds would threaten the future of organic food and farming.

Why? Farmers need to know what seeds they are buying. Organic farmers need to know which seeds are genetically modified because organic farming prohibits the use of GM seeds. But the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is proposing to allow companies to put many new gene-edited GM seeds on the market without any government safety assessment or notification to the government, farmers or consumers. In the media, the minister said that farmers should be reassured. She said she will make sure organic farmers are protected from undisclosed GM seeds. Ask the minister to take real action now to stop the unknown, unregulated GM seeds.

Easy action steps:

Download and print a seed package letter, add your name and address, write a personal note if you want, and put in the post – you don’t even need a stamp! (all mail to Members of Parliament is free) Click the links below to print up your letter:

1. A pre-written letter to the Minister of Agriculture about GM seeds or a blank letter to the Minister of Agriculture, for you to write your message.
2. A pre-written letter to the Minister of Health about GM foods or a blank letter to the Minister of Health write your own letter.

Or go to the main campaign website to send your instant email.

For community events:

• Print the flyer (black and white, double-sided, two fold) (Flyer in French)
• Contact us to order postcards to collect signatures and mail to the Minister.

The Seed Packet message

This is what the Seed Packet says:

STOP UNDISCLOSED GM SEEDS

WARNING: This seed packet could soon be full of undisclosed genetically modified (GM) seeds.

Ensure safety & transparency
www.cban.ca/NoExemptions

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is proposing to exempt some genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) seeds from regulation. Health Canada says it will not regulate some new GM foods produced with gene editing (those with no foreign DNA).

Please ensure government oversight:

• Don’t let companies sell new seeds without disclosing that they are genetically modified.
• Don’t let companies decide the safety of their own GM seeds & foods, without any government safety checks.

These changes will mean:

• No independent government food safety and environmental assessments of many new genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
• Companies can put new some GM seeds on the market without telling the government, or farmers that the seeds are GM.
• Companies can sell some GM foods without notifying Health Canada.

Why it matters:

• Farmers need to know what seeds they’re buying.
• Organic farmers need to know if seeds have been gene edited because all GMOs are prohibited under the Canada Organic Standards.
• Most Canadians want GMOs labelled.

For more information on what the federal government is proposing, see www.cban.ca/NoExemptions