The pressure on continued acceptance of agricultural technology tools such as herbicides and breeding techniques is having ripple effects here in Canada, both at home and abroad.
September ruling by the European Union Maintaining glyphosate registration for another 10 years seems like a positive step, but the fact that glyphosate was on the verge of being cut at all is reason to understand and support the role of regulation and science-based policy for agriculture, says Erin Goureluk, president of the Grains Council of Canada.
The Canadian Grains Council brings together all aspects of the grain value chain to build consensus and collaboration, create a forum for internal discussions and find consensus on common issues, Goureluk says. The push for sound science as a basis for policy and regulatory decisions is one of the issues championed by the group’s champions.
As Gorelock sees it, it matters because governments can choose to follow one of two paths — stick to science to achieve reality-based agricultural and environmental goals, or buy and feed misconceptions about agriculture and the environment to attract voters. The latter leads to wasted time, misinformation, and policies with unintended negative consequences.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Highlights:
- Sound science is the cornerstone of grain regulation and trade, and has a role in making regulatory decisions that affect trade
- Science-based decision making leads to more appropriate outcomes, achieving agri-environmental goals and objectives
- Governments can respond to science-based policy decisions by leading with science or taking advantage of misinformation to appear aligned with voters.
- Currently, Mexican farmers are frustrated by government policies that do not take their point of view into account, and there are EU policy decisions that affect food security and the use of glyphosate.
- Policies that are not science-based can have unintended consequences, such as negative impacts on food security, reduced production, and increased costs.
- Concerns about climate change are leading to an increased focus on sustainability in agriculture
- Canadian farmers rely on glyphosate for sustainability practices, and a ban could impact trade and liabilities.
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