Changes to Canada’s Seed Regulations Cause Concern
Posted: July 19, 2013
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Members
Farmers across Canada represented by the National Farmer’s Union (NFU)are worried that the proposed changes to the Seeds Regulations by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will not only be bad for business, but for the health of the environment and consumers.
There are several troubling issues with the proposed changes argues NFU. The first is that the CFIA is proposing eliminating the merit requirements for soybeans and forage crops (which include hay and alfalfa). As the system currently operates, all new seed varieties must undergo rigorous scientific testing to ensure that they are “equal or superior to appropriate reference varieties with regard to any single characteristic or combination of characteristics that renders the variety beneficial for a particular use in a specific area of Canada”. In plain language, this means that new varieties of a particular plant (ie alfalfa) must include at least the same benefits and positive qualities of the previous type (drought resistant, immunity to particular diseases, nutritional content, etc.). The changes seek to eliminate this rule, essentially establishing a market system where new varieties of a plant are not only untested but also come to the farmer with their specific properties unknown. It’s not just a minor technical issue either; this scientific testing is imperative because these forage plants are eaten by livestock who eventually end up in the stomachs of consumers across the country.
Farmers are also concerned about amendments to the way in which seed varieties are removed from the market for purchase. Currently, seed varieties can only be cancelled with approval by the CFIA but the new changes would make it so that the owner of any particular variety could cancel their purchase on demand. While this may appear to be a minor issue, and one that seems logical, it has real economic repercussions for growers. Since seed variety owners can only charge royalties on their plants for 18 years, farmers can use older varieties free of charge, trading a less effective product for a slimmer farm budget and higher profit margin. With these changes, the NFU worries, farmers could be forced into a “variety treadmill” where seed varieties are cancelled on a swift and regular basis, forcing farmers to continue to purchase newer and more expensive varieties just to keep their fields in seed. Moreover, these changes would allow the royalty-free varieties to be cancelled, potentially eliminating all free seed variety options for farmers.
To read NFU’s critical response in full click here.
To access the discussion paper discussing these changes click here.