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<span class="item"><span class="item"><b><span class="head">"WHITE
LIST" OF AUTHORIZED PLANTS (Canada and U.S.)</span></b></span></span>
<p class="item">The U.S. and Canadian governments are planning to
introduce a "white list" of plants that are allowed entry into each
country under a joint Canada-USA greenhouse certification program. The
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) are requesting comments from stakeholders on a
proposal to replace the current list of prohibited plants with this new
list of allowed plants. What this means is that if a plant is not on
the allowed list it cannot enter the U.S. from Canada or vice versa.
Many thousands of plants including many herbs will be barred entry
under the proposal.</p>
<p class="item">This change is highly significant for both countries
because it appears to be a first attempt to implement a controversal
"white list" approach to the control of cross-border plant movement.
The proposed "white list" is far more restrictive than the current
"black list" of prohibited plants that has been in place since the
inception of the binational Greenhouse Certification Program in 1996.
The proposed "white list" of allowed plants includes less than 1000
plant genera, out of over 12,600 genera of flowering plants known to
man. The current "black list" of prohibited plants has fewer than 100
genera.</p>
<p class="item">Some suggest that the powerful anti-invasives movement
in the U.S. is behind the push to introduce "white lists" of plants
that are allowed into the country. While invasives are a problem for
both countries, the new list will affect thousands of plants already in
the horticultural trade, and will limit the introduction of new plants
to gardeners.</p>
<p class="item">For gardeners, it is worth reflecting a moment on how
many new plants that you have enjoyed growing over the past 10-20
years, and how many of them might not have been available to you had
this "white list" been in place.</p>
<p class="item">Gardeners, herbalists, commercial growers, and the
gardening and herbal media are encouraged to submit comments.</p>
<p class="note"><b><font color="#cc0033">The deadline for comments is
October 31, 2010.</font></b></p>
<p class="item"><b>United States</b>: Email your comments to Michael D.
Ward, Senior Accreditation Projects Manager, USDA-APHIS-PPQ (<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:michael.d.ward@aphis.usda.gov?Subject=GCP%20Comments">michael.d.ward@aphis.usda.gov)</a></p>
<p class="item"><b>Canada</b>: Email your comments to the CFIA (<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:horticulture@inspection.gc.ca?Subject=comments">horticulture@inspection.gc.ca</a>)</p>
<p class="item">The relevant documents, including the proposed lists of
authorized genera and families, are available <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.richters.com/newdisplay.cgi?page=Issues/documents.html">here</a>.</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
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/ / Goodwood, ON, L0C 1A0, Canada
\_\ Tel +1.905.640.6677 Fax +1.905.640.6641
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href="http://www.richters.com">http://www.richters.com</a></pre>
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