Press conference in Winnipeg to launch a series of 11 public meetings

Monsanto has recently submitted an application for the dissemination of Roundup Ready wheat - a wheat variety engineered to be resistant to Roundup herbicide. Government officials expect to make a decision within a year. Approval of genetically engineered wheat would represent a major threat to farming in Canada, and it is up to the farming community and urban consumers to speak out against this new danger.

This is the message that will soon be given to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta urban and rural communities as The Council of Canadians, the National Farmers’ Union, the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, and the Parkland Institute organise a series of 11 public meetings in communities across the three Prairie provinces.

Under the theme Planting Seeds of Doubt: Taking a stand against genetically engineered wheat in Canada, the Tour will focus on the dangers of the genetic contamination of traditional crops, the loss of biodiversity, the inability to save seeds for replanting, the potential market loss for wheat farmers, and the rural-urban resistance against GE wheat.

WHAT:		Press Conference launching the Planting Seeds of Doubt: Taking a stand against genetically engineered wheat in Canada Tour
WHEN:		Wednesday, February 26, 2003
WHERE:		University of Manitoba
WHO:		Nadège Adam [Biotechnology Campaigner, Council of Canadians] Fred Tait [Board member, National Farmers Union] Todd Leake [Farmer to Farmer Campaign against Genetic Engineering (USA)]

PLANTING SEEDS OF DOUBT TOUR SCHEDULE

• February 26 - Winnipeg, MB – 7pm at Theatre 100, St. Paul's College, 70 Dysart St, U. of Manitoba
• March 1 - Melville, SK – 2:30pm at Elks Hall (Corner of Main Street and 2nd Ave.)
• March 3 - Humboldt, SK – 7pm at Humboldt Uniplex, Highway 5
• March 4 - Saskatoon, SK – 7pm at St. Joseph Parish Hall, Broadway and 8th Street
• March 5 - Rosetown, SK – 7pm at Legion Hall, 112 A, 1st Ave East
• March 6 - Swift Current, SK – 7pm at Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Airport Road
• March 7 - Medicine Hat, AB – 7:30pm at Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery, 1302 Bomford Crescent SW
• March 8 - Red Deer/Rimbey, AB – 7:30om at Stewart Room, Red Deer and District Museum, 4525-47a Ave
• March 10 - Camrose, AB – 7:30 pm at Augustana University College, Room C167, 4901-46 Ave
• March 11 - Edmonton, AB – 7:30pm at Engineering Complex, Shell Room, U. of Alberta Campus, 91 Ave & 116 St.
• March 12 - Grand Prairie, AB – 7:30pm at Grande Prairie Regional College, Room D208, 10726 106 Ave.

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