Adriane Carr wants Vancouver declared GMO-free zone

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      Remember those signs proclaiming that Vancouver was a "nuclear weapons free zone"?

      If Green councillor Adriane Carr has her way, perhaps city hall will consider putting up "Welcome to Vancouver: a GMO free zone" signs. Carr has put a motion on council's Tuesday (May 27) meeting agenda calling for the city to declare itself a genetically-engineered free zone.

      Her motion would see the "planting and growing of genetically modified crops, trees, and plants be banned in the City of Vancouver". It would also ask city staff to "investigate the opportunities to ban the sale of GMO crops, meat, fish, poultry and seeds" in the city.

      As well, Carr wants the city to ask the federal and provincial governments to introduce mandatory labelling for genetically modified organisms, and to "impose a moratorium on bringing further GMOs to market for sale until a regime of independent and transparent scientific assessment and GMO management is introduced".

      "In the absence of provincial legislation, many BC municipalities have declared themselves as GE-Free zones including North Vancouver, Richmond, Saanich, Nelson and Powell River," the motion's preamble states.

      On Saturday (May 24), a March Against Monsanto will begin at 10 a.m. outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.

      Comments

      14 Comments

      uncle Jack

      May 22, 2014 at 7:15pm

      What about declaring Vancouver a "stupidity free zone"??

      I guess people will line up to be counted!!~

      Robert Wager

      May 23, 2014 at 6:42am

      I am guessing Adriane Carr has read these:

      "GM foods currently available on the international market have passed risk
      assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health. In addition,
      no effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of
      such foods by the general population in the countries where they have been
      approved." (WHO)

      "Moreover, the AAAS Board said, the World Health Organization, the American
      Medical Association, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the British Royal
      Society, and "every other respected organization that has examined the evidence
      has come to the same conclusion: consuming foods containing ingredients derived
      from GM crops is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients
      from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques." (AAAS
      2012)

      "The main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research
      projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research, and involving
      more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology, and in
      particular GMOs, are not per se more risky than e.g. conventional plant breeding
      technologies…Now, after 25 years of field trials without evidence of harm, fears
      continue to trigger the Precautionary Principle. But Europeans need to abandon
      this knowingly one-sided stance and strike a balance between the advantages and
      disadvantages of the technology on the basis of scientifically sound risk
      assessment analysis. (EC 2011)

      “There is no validated evidence that GM crops have greater adverse impact on health and the environment than any other technology used in plant breeding…There is compelling evidence that GM crops can contribute to sustainable development goals with benefits to farmers, consumers, the environment and the economy. EASAC (2013)

      Robert Wager

      May 23, 2014 at 7:20am

      perhaps Adriane should ask the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority what they think:

      “There is no evidence that Health Canada approved GE foods and food crops are any less safe for human health than non-GE varieties…There is no public health reason for a ban on genetically engineered trees, plants and crops as proposed by the resolution to Council.” VCHA 2012

      eric mcleod

      May 23, 2014 at 8:49am

      See you at the march! Don't forget to bring your tin foil hat.

      Mark

      May 23, 2014 at 9:43am

      This is ridiculous. Are all foods going to be inspected by government workers? The only people who benefit from this will be government workers, likely unionized.

      If you don't like GMO foods, simply don't buy them. We don't need the government to regulate everyone's behavior.

      Heart Beat

      May 23, 2014 at 9:48am

      This is a brilliant idea! Get this Monsanto crap outta here! All the smart countries in the world are banning it. Cantada hasn't got the balls. But Hooverton as a city could do it!! YAY!

      First Officer

      May 23, 2014 at 9:59am

      She's been watching too many episodes of Continuum of late.

      Bruce

      May 23, 2014 at 10:00am

      Will she pledge to make Vancouver a vaccination-free zone next? Promote homeopathy instead?

      Less pandering, please. This issue is one of the green/left's anti-science weak points.

      MarkFornataro

      May 23, 2014 at 10:38am

      Looks from most comments so far that Monsanto and friends are out in full force being offensive just like their unnatural products. It should be a democratic right to know what we are ingesting.Good for Ms Carr.

      Robert Wager

      May 23, 2014 at 11:23am

      Mark F

      Are you saying the World Health Organization, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the European Commission, and the European National Academies of Science and every health authority in the world, every food safety authority in the world and every National Academy of Science in the world are all "Monsanto friends". Interesting pov