In another win for food freedom advocates, public pressure on Forage Genetics International (FGI) has forced the company to halt the release of it’s patented ‘RoundUp Ready’ GM alfalfa. Thumbnail credit: Amos Gal/Getty Images

Farmers from the Canadian states of Ontario to Manitoba have long insisted that the crops were unsafe and could cross-contaminate non-GMO alfalfa which grows naturally in the Western part of the country.

Mike Peterson, spokesman for FGI, confirmed that they would not be releasing the new GM alfalfa strains this spring:

“For spring of 2014, Forage Genetics will not be commercializing Roundup Ready alfalfa in Canada anywhere. That’s the only decision we’ve made so far. We’re just going day to day on the decision making process, but we have made a decision about spring.”

In what has been a big change of events from just last year when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency approved the use GM alfalfa for commercial use, Ontario grass-fed beef farmer and NFU member, Dave Lewington said:

“By deciding not to sell GM alfalfa in Canada for spring planting, FGI is, at some level, admitting that the concerns of farmers across Canada are serious. It is unfortunate that our own government has failed to acknowledge the severe economic impact that the commercial release of GM alfalfa would have on Canadian farmers.”

Activists are also concerned about the increased use of the glysophate herbicide on ‘RoundUp Ready’ crops, which have been proven in recent independent studies to cause severe kidney damage and a host of other health and environmental concerns.

Overall this is a win for Canadian farmers and the public in general. Even though the government let them down by approving these crops in the first place, public pressure was able to force the company to change it’s plans for GM alfalfa.

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