A Canadian farming federation and an anti-GMO network are separately calling on the federal Competition Bureau to review the possible implications of Bayer's $66-billion US takeover of seed giant Monsanto.  

"Our position right now would be for the Competition Bureau to really … examine what the impact is going to be and making sure that there's fair pricing and competition in the marketplace," said Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

As two of the world's biggest agriculture companies, Germany-based Bayer and U.S.-based Monsanto would control about 90 per cent of the canola seed market in Canada if they consolidate, Bonnett said.

Monsanto, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has for years been painted as an evil corporation by groups opposed to the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and pesticides it manufactures. The company is one of the largest producers of seeds in the world, including many genetically engineered varieties, and makes the weed killer Roundup. The genetically engineered seeds are resistant to Roundup, so farmers can get rid of weeds without affecting their crops.

Most farmers and scientists credit GMOs with producing higher-yielding, more sustainable crops, but opponents are concerned there could be detrimental health or environmental effects — some of which, they say, may not yet be known.     

"This merger could further increase the price of seed, decrease choice in the marketplace for Canadian farmers, and stifle research and development," says a Sept. 15 submission to the Competition Bureau by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, a group of 17 organizations with "serious concerns about genetic engineering in food and farming."