duBreton Responds to Health Canada’s Approval of Gene-Edited Meat with ‘Verified No Cloning or Gene Editing’ Labeling Commitment

duBreton is responding to Health Canada’s recent decision to approve the use of gene-edited meat in the Canadian food system without mandatory labeling requirements. This decision comes on the heels of Health Canada’s proposed approach to cloned-animal foods, which was redacted following overwhelming consumer and industry concern.

Taken together, these decisions underscore growing concern about the pace at which emerging animal technologies are being introduced into the food system without sufficient transparency or meaningful consumer engagement.

duBreton believes that gene-edited technologies and food products derived from them – must be clearly and properly labeled to ensure consumer transparency. This responsibility rests with government oversight officials, who have thus far declined the call for mandatory labeling, despite clear and repeated signals from Canadian consumers and industry officials.

“Canadians have been very clear about their concerns surrounding gene edited meat in their food supply,” said Vincent Breton, President of duBreton. “Approving gene-edited meat without labeling ignores those concerns. Proper labeling gives people the information they need to make informed choices about the meat they eat. Anything less is misleading.”