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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has quietly approved a new genetically engineered corn with eight different insect- and weed-fighting traits, but farmer and environmental groups in Canada say the approval was rushed and environmental risks ignored.

Developed through a research agreement between Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences, SmartStax corn is unique in that it “stacks” eight different genetically engineered traits that will allow corn to tolerate certain weed- and insect-killing products made by the two companies.

Each of the eight traits has been individually approved by the CFIA, but opponents are concerned there might be unintended consequences when the traits are combined.

“You’d think that a combination of eight GE traits would trigger an environmental assessment, but the CFIA has (provided) no public record of their evaluation,” said Lucy Sharratt, co-ordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.

The CFIA has also conditionally authorized for SmartStax a reduction in the size of the buffer zone, or “refuge,” normally required around genetically engineered corn.- CanWest News Service

Labels: Canada, Corn, farming, food safety, GM, Monsanto

King Corn is a humorous and touching documentary about two best friends who decide to move to Iowa to grow an acre of corn – after finding out (through laboratory hair analysis) that their bodies were made primarily out of….corn. But this is not your typical buddy picture. While it does trace a year in the life of two friends, the film is really about the history of corn in modern America and the filmmakers’ relationship with the crop they’ve decided to grow.

After the somewhat shocking discovery about their bodily composition, Ian Chaney and Curt Ellis move to a small county in Iowa (where, coincidentally, both had farmer great-grandfathers) in order to find out how they (and most other Americans) ended up made out of corn. The two friends convince an Iowa farmer to lend them an acre of land to plant their corn crop. They purchase genetically modified corn for planting, and with the help of their neighbors, some heavy machinery, and lots of chemical fertilizers and herbicides, they end up growing a bumper crop of corn. But as Ian and Curt show us – this isn’t your sweet summer corn-on-the-cob we’re talking about – it’s corn bred specifically for industrial applications. The two friends decide to find out what happens to the corn they’ve grown after it leaves the grain elevator – and find that tracing their crop is easier said than done. Ultimately, however, they come to the conclusion that their corn is likely destined for one of two American industries: animal feed or corn syrup.

Labels: Corn, Movie