China’s Zero GMO Tolerance Blocks U.S. Hay Import

China has a zero tolerance for GMO products and its actions supports its words. China has blacklisted 3 U.S. exporters of hay because of GMO being present in exported crops. Hundreds of barrels of hay tainted with GMO Roundup Ready alfalfa have been turned away. It wasn’t the hay that was GMO, but the hay was contaminated with GMO Roundup Ready alfalfa. China is not playing around!

There are opponents of GMO crops and growers of non GMO crops here in the U.S who are concerned about contamination of their crops from neighboring GMO crops. No one here in the U.S. seems to be listening, but China gets it.

Ed Shaw, a Canadian exporter is listening and is concerned, and says Canadian farmers should be concerned with China’s zero tolerance policy. Forage Genetics International has 11 test plots of Roundup Ready Alfalfa in Quebec and Ontario and Shaw is concerned these crops could contaminate their hay crops. If that happens it would shut Canada out of the Chinese market.

Shaw said:

“Now the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and the Chinese are trying to work on a tolerance level. If you have canola field next to an alfalfa field and get some trash, it’s going to check positive on the forage.”

It seems like other countries besides the U.S. are concerned about GMO crops.

Forage Seed Canada president Heather Kerschbaumer said a container load of her farm’s timothy hay was rejected because of the discovery of one canola seed in a 25 gram sample destined for Japan three years ago.

The company Forage Seed had the contract with cancelled the contract and Forge Seed lost $20,000.

References:
“Roundup Ready in alfalfa exports ‘catastrophic’