Find here information on the following important crops - not on the market:

• Alfalfa - Monsanto's GE alfalfa is not yet legal in Canada!
• Flax - Canadian farmers suffered a GE flax contamination crisis in late 2009 even though the flax is not on the market.
• Potato - Research on GE potatoes continues.
• Rice - People across the world are fighting to stop GE rice.
• Wheat- Monsanto defied global rejection and has pledges to develop a new GE wheat.

It has been 15 years since genetically engineered crops and foods were first introduced into Canada. But only 4 GE crops are currently grown in Canada:

• canola
• corn
• soy
• sugar beet

These crops are either insect resistant or herbicide tolerant and many now carry both traits. We could also be importing GE papaya, squash, cottonseed oil and milk products from the US.

Though the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada have approved over 50 varieties of 12 GE crops and foods under their category of "Plants with Novel Traits" and "Novel Foods", not all of these are products of genetic engineering. Furthermore, many GE crop varieties listed are not currently on the market in Canada (such as GE potatoes and tomatoes). See the below lists for the exact breakdown of what genetically engineered seeds farmers in Canada are planting and what GE foods are on our grocery store shelves.

• Click here to to see this chart of GM foods in Canada.
• Click here to see the Shoppers Guide from Greenpeace Canada which lists brand-name foods.
• Click here to read the full story of how Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone was rejected in Canada.

GE Crops Globally

2012: GM crops (predominately corn, soy, and cotton - herbicide tolerant and/or insect resistant) are still confined to a handful of countries with highly industrialized, export-oriented agricultural sectors. One country alone - the U.S. - plants 43% of the global GM crop area. 77% of the world's GM crops are planted in the U.S.(43%), Brazil (19%) and Argentina (15%). India (GM cotton) and Canada (GM canola, corn, soy and sugarbeet) both plant 6% of the global acres of GM.

GE Crops in Europe

2011: The only GE crop currently cultivated in the EU is Monsanto's insect resistant (Bt) corn (MON810). In 2010, GE corn was produced in the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia on a cultivation surface of about 82 000 hectares equaling a 13% decrease compared to 2009. Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg have all banned the use and sale of the MON 810 GE corn due to concerns about its long term effects.