Value of Biotechnology

I want to tell you a story about Canadian Canola biotechnology. It’s a story in the making, and I need your help to shape the ending.

Drag the icon or scroll in the direction of the arrow to navigate through the story.

See this tiny black seed? It contains something very special: the power to feed more and more people while making a smaller and smaller impact on the environment. It’s called Canadian canola, and it contains biotechnology – the science that helps crops meet the challenges of a growing world. Canola has been traded across international borders since the 1970s.

Wherever canola biotechnology goes, good things happen. On farms, it helps crops reduce their environmental impact. When it’s crushed into canola oil, it nourishes families with its healthy fats. It creates jobs and sparks innovation at every step of its journey, from the fertile prairie where it’s grown, to bustling ports where it’s traded and the vibrant markets where it’s sold.

Recently, people have started taking a closer look at where their food comes from. They're hearing the buzz around genetically modified crops, and they’re asking, “Is my food safe?” And, “Is it safe for the environment?”

These questions are important, and they deserve insightful answers. Biotech crops like Canadian canola are an important tool to help us feed all 9 billion people who will live on this planet in 2050. And to do it in a way that helps protect our environment and natural resources.

We need your help to make sure this story has a happy ending. You can connect your community to balanced information on biotechnology. It’s not just about Canadian canola – it’s about all of us.

The Truth About Biotech Canola

It makes agriculture more environmentally sustainable

Biotech canola protects the health of our soil

Farmers used to rely on tilling the soil to remove weeds from their fields. It dried out the soil, leading to erosion and reduced fertility. Biotech crops like Canadian canola are tolerant to herbicides. By spraying herbicides on their fields, farmers can control weeds while protecting their crops and soil. They no longer need to till their fields every year, keeping our soil moist and fertile.

Source: Smyth et al. (2011). Environmental impacts from herbicide tolerant canola production in Western Canada. Agricultural Systems, 104 (5), 403–410.

Biotech canola allows us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Farmers also save a lot of fuel when they don't need to till their fields to control weeds. That means they spend less time operating the tractor and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. In just one year of growing Canadian canola, farmers saved one billion kilograms of carbon dioxide – that's equivalent to removing nearly 500,000 cars from the roads!

Source: Graham Brookes & Peter Barfoot (2015). Environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) crop use 1996–2013: Impacts on pesticide use and carbon emissions. GM Crops & Food, 6:2, 103-133.

Biotech canola helps reduce agriculture's environmental impact

Farmers depend on our planet for their livelihoods, so they truly care about the health of the land and environment. Technologies like biotech canola means they can now use fewer herbicides to protect their crops from weeds, which reduces the impact that agriculture has on our environment.

Source: Graham Brookes & Peter Barfoot (2015). Environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) crop use 1996–2013: Impacts on pesticide use and carbon emissions. GM Crops & Food, 6:2, 103-133.

Biotech canola creates jobs and economic activity

Canada exports 90% of its biotech canola around the world. Moving and processing this much grain into top-quality oil and meal takes a lot of people. From the moment Canadian-grown canola enters an importing country it starts creating jobs and stimulating economic activity around the world.

Biotech canola creates jobs and economic activity

In China, Canadian canola generates 16,150 jobs and $3.6 billion of economic activity per year.

Source: "The Economic Impact of Canadian-grown Canola on the Chinese Economy," LMC International, 2013.

Biotech canola creates jobs and economic activity

In the United States, Canadian canola generates 15,600 jobs and $6.4 billion of economic activity per year.

Source: "The Economic Impact of Canadian-grown Canola on the U.S. Economy," LMC International, 2017.

Biotech canola creates jobs and economic activity

In Mexico, Canadian canola generates 7,100 jobs and $21.9 billion MXN of economic activity per year.

Source: "The Economic Impact of Canadian-grown Canola on the Mexican Economy," LMC International, 2017.

Biotech crops raise farmer incomes around the world

When farmers grow biotech crops like Canadian canola, they can produce more grain and food from every acre of farmland than they could with non-biotech crops. At harvest time, they bring that additional grain and food to market and earn more money. Biotech crops have raised the incomes of farmers around the world by over $20 billion each year.

Source: Brooks, G and and P Barfoot. "Global income and production impacts of using GM crop technology, 1996–2013." GM Crops Food. 2015;6(1):13-46.

Biotech crops help produce more with less

Biotech crops allow farmers to produce more food with fewer natural resources like water, fossil fuels and land. As our population climbs to reach 9 billion by 2050, we need technology and crops like biotech canola to keep our food supply plentiful, affordable and sustainable.

Source: "The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition." FAO. Online. http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/agribiotechs-symposium/about-the-symposium/en/

Canola oil is safe and nutritious

Canola oil is absolutely safe and nutritious. Families in over 40 nations around the world choose canola oil because it contains the least amount of saturated fat (only 7%) of any common cooking oil and may help protect the heart.

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm072958.htm

Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through Growing Forward 2, a federal – provincial – territorial initiative.

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