I don't fancy GMO / bioengineered produce items
I know, most people will call me stupid but I live to avoid GMOed products for a range of reasons. My personal choice. If you happen to fall in my tribe, then this might be of interest to you. CBAN is a Canadian group located in the Maritimes.
Genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) fruits and vegetables are a growing concern in Canada, as biotechnology companies continue to test the market this year with patented products like GM purple tomatoes and GM pink pineapples. There is no mandatory labelling and these products are not even sold in compliance with Canada’s voluntary standard for labelling and advertising genetically engineered foods.
This summer watch out for the following unlabelled genetically modified fruits and vegetables in your grocery store:
- GM Pink Pineapples from Del Monte The “PinkGlow” pineapples have been recently spotted at some Farm Boy stores in Ontario as ready-to-eat pineapple in plastic containers. Take action: Write to Farm Boy and ask them to stop selling unlabelled GM "PinkGlow" pineapple.
- GM Empress Tomatoes from Red Sun Farms These GM purple tomatoes have been spotted at Loblaw’s owned stores like Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore, Real Atlantic Superstore, and Your Independent Grocer. They have also been spotted at some Giant Tiger stores and at small “mom’n’pop” style grocery stores. Take Action: Write to Red Sun Farms and ask them to stop growing and marketing GM tomatoes. (Their greenhouses are located in Kingsville, Ontario, with additional greenhouses in the US and Mexico).
- GM Sweet Corn There is very little GM sweet corn on the market in Canada but Whole Foods has been selling GM sweet corn in bins with the word “bioengineered” on the sign. If you buy sweet corn from a road-stand, ask the staff if they can confirm that the corn is non-GMO. The only large retailer who has committed not to source GM sweet corn is the Ontario/Quebec chain METRO. Take Action: Write to Whole Foods and tell them to stop selling GMO fruits and vegetables, like GM sweet corn. (now that Whole Foods is owned by Amazon their priorities have changed)
For a complete list and more information about all the eight GM foods currently on the market in Canada see our handy chart below or visit cban.ca/GMFoods
