The Food Issue
2015
grainswest.com
11
di erent districts are trying the crop,”
Gietz said. “You don’t need a lot of special
equipment or anything, so you can try it
with what you have.”
In addition to their health benefits,
soybeans also provide benefits to farmers
by fixing nitrogen in the soil. “The end
result is that the soil is enriched, and the
next crop can benefit from that,” Gietz
said. “Some guys that have done these
field-scale trials have noticed that they get
a good bump in yields in the next barley or
wheat crop.”
In recent years, soybean acres have
skyrocketed in Manitoba and eastern
Saskatchewan, and Schmalz is optimis-
tic that a similar surge could be in the
cards for Alberta. “The projections for
growth on the Prairies are very aggres-
sive,” Schmalz said. “A lot of major seed
companies are spending a lot of time
and energy developing varieties that will
work on the Prairies.”
One obstacle to the growth of soybean
acres in Alberta is the crop’s profitability.
Currently, soybeans do not yield as large
of a return on investment as other oilseed
crops, such as canola, so they have a hard
time competing for a spot in farmers’
rotations.
“They have relatively low input costs,
but the yield is not super high. It’s about
30 to 40 bushels per acre, so they have
lower revenue as well,” Gietz said. “That’s
probably the main reason that they’re
having trouble getting a strong position
in irrigated land, because the land here is
so valuable. If you look at where the acres
have taken o in Manitoba and eastern
Saskatchewan, that’s happened on dry-
land acres.”
If new varieties are developed that
expand the planting range for soybeans
and allow them to compete with other
crops from a financial perspective, they
could gain traction as a rotation oilseed
for farmers across the province.
“Farmers are capitalists. They’re
going to grow what there’s a market for,”
Schmalz said. “If they can make a little
bit more money growing soybeans than
growing canola, then they’re going to
do it.”
“KNOWGMO”
BALANCINGTHEDEBATE
DOCUMENTARYHOPES TODISPELNEGATIVE
BELIEFSABOUTGENETICMODIFICATION
PRODUCTION IS IN FULL SWING
for a documentary film project designed
to educate the public about the benefits of
biotechnology for agricultural use and the
food system.
Know GMO: An uplifting discussion about
food
will feature farmers, scientists and
a variety of other groups involved in the
genetically modified organism (GMO)
debate, in an e ort to combat anti-GMO
sentiments that are pervasive in popular
culture and on social media.
“What we want to do is change the
conversation from one of fear mongering
to one of possibilities,” said Rob Saik, the
film’s executive producer and CEO of the
Agri-Trend group of companies. “It’s all
negative, and we wanted to change that
focus.”
Saik came up with the idea after watch-
ing another film that was intensely critical
of GMOs without seeking out both sides
of the issue. “They were not interested in
hearing anything positive about GMOs,
only the negative side, and that’s when I
got mad and said, ‘Somebody has to do
something,’” Saik said. “I looked in the
mirror and said, ‘Why not me?’”
Luckily, Saik’s son Nick is a cinematog-
rapher. Together, they assembled a team
and started fundraising, with a goal of $1
million. To date, they have raised more
than $700,000 for the project from a
variety of sources, including agricultural
organizations, retailers and Saik’s own
pocket.
Fittingly, the crew started filming in
Hawaii, where the first commercial genet-
ically modified (GM) fruit, the Rainbow
papaya, has been grown since 1998. They
have also filmed in locations across the
United States, with stops in California
and Missouri, where GM crops, such
as GM corn and soy, are grown. Before
production wraps up, they hope to visit
several countries at the centre of the GMO
debate, including India, Uganda and the
Philippines.
Saik hopes to screen the finished
documentary at several film festivals. It
will also be made available to the general
public and schools at no cost, so that it can
be used as a teaching tool.
“We’re designing it to be used in
schools,” Saik said. “We’re also designing
anywhere from 30-second to 10-minute
vignettes that would provide discussion
for classrooms, so that people can have
a greater understanding of what genet-
ic engineering technology is truly all
about.”
GM corn, soy and canola are already
common in a variety of processed foods
we eat every day.
According to Saik, it is vital that people
accept GM crops, because without them,
it will be di cult for agriculture to con-
tinue to feed the rapidly expanding world
population.
“Agriculture needs tools and technol-
ogy to ensure food security for a global
population that’s going to increase to nine-
billion-plus people. Genetic engineering
is an absolutely essential science to seeing
global food security,” Saik said. “Let’s
embrace the technology through under-
standing and realize that it’s one piece of
the puzzle for agriculture to do its job in
feeding the planet.”
If production stays on schedule, Saik
plans to premiere
Know GMO
in Saskatoon
in early December.
