BC fish farms and Frankenfish?

BC’s farmed salmon are the only genetically modified animals for sale in Canada according to guest, Aube Giroux. Mark Leiren-Young talks to the filmmaker behind Modified about genetically modified fruits, vegetables and fish or, as our government prefers to call them, “plants with novel traits.”

Meet Aube Giroux on the latest episode of Skaana.

Giroux is the producer, director and star of Modified, an enlightening and disturbing feature length documentary about modified foods and the Canadian and US governments’ shocking reluctance to label modified foods as GMOs — even though this is common practice in 64 other countries.

“Genetically engineered salmon is the first GMO animal that’s being sold for human consumption. In Canada we’re actually the first and only country in the world that is selling it to consumers.”

– Aube Giroux

“Canada is now the first and the only country in the world where we are now eating the world’s first GMO animal, and that is genetically modified Atlantic salmon. It was right after the GMO labelling bill failed last may, that the company that produces the salmon, announced “Oh, we’ve just sold 5 tonnes of our salmon to Canadians”. But because the bill had failed, they didn’t have to label it. And even though they proudly declared they are now selling it to Canadians, they refused to disclose where it was being sold.
– Aube Giroux

“The Trudeau government came into power with these claims, that they were going to bring on transparency at every level of government. That they were going to listen to Canadians. And on the GMO issue, we saw the exact opposite on that bill.”

– Aube Giroux