As a farmer in the Yukon who raises certified organic poultry, market garden vegetables and mixed hay, I ask you to be present and vote in favor of Bill C-474 on February 9, 2011.
Bill C-474 would support Canada's farmers by requiring that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.”
Alfalfa is an essential source of nutrients and 
organic matter for any organic rotation including feed or soil building green manure. It is grown in many places and is a major export regionally, nationally and internationally as pellets, cubes, fodder and seed.
As is quite evident with canola, no containment is possible and growing it organically is impossible. It would be worse for alfalfa. With the flax crisis export markets were severely affected. There has also never been any epidemiological study done on genetically engineered alfalfa either.
Here, in the Yukon, we have possibly the last buffered region in Canada to prevent the contamination of pure seed and we also have feral alfalfa growing in several communities that wildlife relies on for nutrients into the long harsh winters. Organic farmers and chemical farmers alike grow alfalfa here for a burgeoning local livestock market and for green manure. With the protection offered in this bill our farms could be saved from any contamination. We don’t export alfalfa, however, alfalfa feed and seed is shipped up the highway to the Yukon to supplement our own small production and if genetically modified alfalfa seed is ever approved in Canada, the Yukon will be contaminated even if it is not cultivated here. Organic growers will lose their ability to grow one of the best crops available to them and possibly lose their livelihood in the process. There is zero containment possible, canola proved this. My choice as a farmer has been unilaterally taken from me, I will have contamination, my livelihood is taken away and no one is held liable. That is a devastating scenario.
I cannot stand against any company like Monsanto and their billion dollar budgets for marketing, lobbying and legal enforcement. There are thousands of small farming families across Canada who cannot possibly stand up against the multinationals. This is why we rely on the due diligence of our elected representatives in the house of parliament. My MP, Hon. Larry Bagnell, understands this issue for us here in the Yukon and will vote in favor of this bill to protect his constituency. He has my thanks, my support and my respect for representing us in the Yukon and protecting the future of my two children.
The growth of the organic sector and for sustainable locally grown feed and food is reaching a tipping point where it will become mainstream and the pride of every jurisdiction in Canada. In European countries, there is a satisfaction in the individual regions producing their specialty food; a cultural distinction based upon food produced. With any genetically engineered seed this is not possible and the farmers loose their right to save any seed.
This isn’t about the just the health safety of a feed, this is about the culture of food production, the future of sustainable farming, and the export capacity our farmers have been recognized for world wide.
This is not about feeding the world; this is about marketing at its worst. To offend peoples’ intelligence by saying that genetically engineered seed will save us all is a fallacy. For the last twenty years of production there has been zero health benefits to this genetically engineered seed industry, there has been only the promotion of ever increasing amounts of carcinogenic chemicals to sustain quarterly earnings of multinational chemical companies. No drought tolerant crop has been produced, no frost hardy seed has been developed, and it is quite simply the sale of chemicals disguised in marketing terms with an incredibly forceful lobby power.
I would ask you to vote for Bill C-474 to ensure there is an assessment done to protect the producers and value chain participants, the environment, the future of the strongest farming sector in the world, the organic sector, and our children’s future. This bill does not say no to genetic engineering, it works for the people of Canada to make sure the choices we make are based upon sound research into the impacts of questionable technology and marketing. Utilize the precautionary principle and act for the people of Canada who you represent.
Thank you for your time reading this and for being present to vote in favor of Bill C-474.
Please feel free to contact me.
Tom Rudge
tom@yukonfood.com
Aurora Mountain Farm
PO Box 20228
Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 7A2
