February 19, 2010

Canada one step forward to approving GM pork

GM pork is now one step closer to joining Canada's food chain with the Canadian government poised to declare the meat does not harm the environment.

Environment Canada has determined that Yorkshire pigs developed at the University of Guelph are not toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The official declaration is expected to be made on Saturday (Feb 20).

This is the first regulatory hurdle to get the pigs to market, seeking a government declaration that its transgenic pig is fit for human consumption. This will be a first in the country if Health Canada approves Guelph's pending application, submitted last year.

The "Enviropigs," the world's first transgenic animal created to solve an environmental problem, were created in 1999 with a snippet of mouse DNA introduced into their chromosomes. The pigs produce low-phosphorus feces.

The Guelph scientists were able to reduce phosphorus pollution by creating a special composite gene that enables digestion of a normally unavailable form of phosphorus. This allows the pigs to produce manure that is 30-65% lower in phosphorus than found in the manure of regular pigs - blamed for polluting surface and groundwater when raised in intensive livestock operations.

But Patricia Howard, a biotechnology and public policy expert at Simon Fraser University, felt that Canada is not yet ready for GM pork consumption.

The public would have many questions and concerns, and Health Canada is not in the right shape to perform this type of assessment, she said.

Health assessments were not done, as Health Canada simply read the reports of the companies and decided whether it was adequately done, said Howard.

Currently, there are no products derived from GM animals approved for food or feed use in Canada or anywhere else in the world.