“When you get to the GM side, I’ll be frank that I lived through that debate when I lived in Europe and I don’t want to go too far out on a limb because I want to respect and listen to Canadians but I’ve never been convinced that GM is a risk to health,” he said in a February interview.
“To me it is a scientific question and I respect scientific evidence. It simply can’t be driven by consumer anxiety.”
Organic producers appearing before parliamentary hearings on biotechnology in agriculture insist that products containing genetically modified material must be labelled to alert consumers.
Consumers say the same thing in public opinion polls.
The debate over GM labelling has typically pitted New Democrats and the Bloc Québecois against the anti-labelling Conservatives.
Most Liberal MPs side with the agriculture and food industry that opposes GM labelling.
Recently, however, Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter has said the party is rethinking its opposition to GM labelling since it can help secure markets in GM-skeptical countries.
GM-free canola from Prince Edward Island has a lucrative market niche in Japan only because of labelling.
But Ignatieff doesn’t sound convinced of the wisdom of a move to mandatory labelling for GM content.
He embraced genetically modified products as safe and insisted that politics and consumer fear must not dictate policy on genetically modified organisms.
He was living in the United Kingdom when the debate over the safety of genetically modified foods broke out in the 1990s.
Ignatieff said he respects the fact that some consumers are concerned about GM content in their food.
“You have to listen to consumers.”
But sugar, fat and salt content in food products are far more dangerous for consumers and a far more important labeling issue.
In power, he would be skeptical of demands for a labeling policy if it did not include some scientific evidence of potential harm, said Ignatieff.
“As prime minister, you’ve got to show me some science that says there are some GM modifications that are dangerous to health or safety or have a ripple effect on other crops,” the Liberal leader said.
“But you can’t base sound agricultural policy on the fact that some people have some anxieties here. It has to be science driven. I’ll tell you personally I’ve been in this debate for 20 years and I’ve not seen, repeat, not seen, evidence that GM foods are harmful to health.”
