A researcher who says he has spent two decades "uncovering the truth" about genetically engineered foods is set to give a talk on his findings at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Richmond next week.
Steven Druker, founder and executive director of U.S.-based Alliance for Bio-Integrity, alleges the risks of genetically engineered foods have been chronically underestimated.
Druker points to a report delivered by the Royal Society of Canada, the senior national council of Canadian scholars, which he says states genetically engineered crops have created “at least one and perhaps more unintended side effects, some of which could be deleterious to human health.”
“For that reason (the Royal Society) stated that it’s scientifically unjustifiable to presume that any, or conclude that any genetically engineered food is safe, unless its safety has been demonstrated through rigorous testing,” Druker said.
Druker’s talk, scheduled for Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Melville Centre for Dialogue, is being hosted by KPU’s Institute for Sustainable Food Systems.
“An informed, knowledgeable citizenry is essential,” said Kent Mullinix, director of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems in a press release.
“The introduction and use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture and food has from the start been highly contentious from ecological, ethical, social and agriculture business perspectives.”
For farmers, Druker said it’s time to stop planting genetically engineered crops if they're potentially harmful to consumers.
“I’m pretty sure most of the farmers in the Richmond area are good people,” Druker said. “If they knew, they wouldn’t want to be planting crops that have been demonstrated to be toxic.”
The challenge, he says, is for consumers who may not know how to identify genetically engineered foods.
“It’s difficult for consumers in Canada and the United States,” Druker said, adding it's hard for consumers to get the knowledge they need about food.
“One of the main omissions is the lack of labeling…therefore the consumer has been kept in the dark so the consumers have to be alert.”
Overall, Druker said Health Canada has ignored the findings of the Royal Society, in spite of the fact the federal body was the one to commission the report.
“(Health Canada) has fallen away from its duty to predict the safety of the Canadian food supply and the health of the Canadian consumer,” Druker claimed.
“It’s really a major problem and I would say to citizens in Canada, ‘who do you trust?’”
For more information or to register for KPU’s event, visit its webpage.
