Flax fiasco

Weeks after it happened, there are still far more questions than answers concerning the European rejection of a shipment of Canadian flax. The Europeans allegedly found traces of a genetically modified variety within a shipment. With Europe as the dominant buyer of Canadian flax, the market for Canadian producers has all but collapsed. If you can find anyone to buy flax right now, it’s usually at a steeply discounted price. Here are some of the unanswered questions:
• Is the European finding credible? There seems to be a lack of proof at this point.
• Why would they even be testing for GM flax when seed of the only GM variety was collected back from growers more than ten years ago?
• The GM flax variety was fully approved in North American so why should Europe get bent out of shape over a trace amount in one shipment?
• Is this flax issue just a way for the anti-GMO forces to garner attention?
There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to resolve European concerns. For growers facing tremendous market uncertainty, answers can’t come soon enough. I’m Kevin Hursh.

www.hursh.ca

Kevin Hursh PAg CAC