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The 21st-century Canadian family is eating and drinking a variety of foodstuffs that fall into the category of genetically modified food.
Modified foods aren't new to Canadians: we've been eating crops that are the result of cross-breeding since the 19th century. With recent advances in biotechnology, however, new types of crops are being produced by considerably more complicated methods.
Genetic engineering, for example, is a relatively new biotechnological technique whereby genes from one species—of plant, for instance—are spliced into genes from another, resulting in a new kind of seed and, eventually, an agricultural product that nature might not have developed on its own. The idea is to grow hardier, faster-maturing, more pest-resistant crops, and to improve the quality and nutritional value of food and feed grains for livestock.
In Canada, genetically modified crops have been a fact of life since the mid-1990s. Among the many genetically engineered products already approved by the federal government are the New Leaf potato, grown on Prince Edward Island, and a variety of canola that is resistant to a particular herbicide. Other foods include corn, squash, soybeans and tomatoes.
The first food product of genetic engineering was cheese made from genetically engineered bacteria in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, since genetically modified foods began to appear on the market, the issue of engineering foods in a laboratory has been steeped in controversy.
On one side, detractors believe the field of genetic manipulation of crops entails unknown risks to human health and the environment. They argue that few of the genetically engineered organisms used throughout the food processing industry have been independently tested for long-term health safety.
On the other side, supporters claim genetically modified foods—such as tomatoes that stay fresh longer and potatoes that fend off devastating beetles—pose minimal risk because they are substantially equivalent to unaltered products and are subjected to rigorous assessment before they move into the marketplace. Proponents are also quick to point out that most of what Canadians eat today is the product of genetic modification, noting that breeds of livestock and varieties of plants have been cultivated and modified for generations to transform food into something that is inexpensive, safe and widely available.
To help Canadians sort out the complexities of the issue, the federal government has created the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, as well as the Canadian General Standards Board's Committee on Voluntary Labelling of Food Obtained or Not Obtained Through Genetic Modification.
As debate has escalated, public opinion has differed widely. A poll conducted in early 2000 reported that 75% of Canadians familiar with genetically modified foods are worried about their safety, and 95% want genetically modified foods labelled. But a 1999 survey conducted for the Council of Canadians found that most Canadians, although wary, trust that "someone, somewhere" is in charge of monitoring and regulating the safety of Canadian food.
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency share responsibility for the safety of foods resulting from genetic modification.