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On 10-10-24 01:55 PM, Gena Fleming wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:AANLkTin6RiEyJCMivo_Lw2WokqK_ek7Sex0gxb92XrT5@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div>Thank you Conrad, for bringing this to our attention.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I have now just had a few moments to read over some of the
documents in the brief. Here is the solicitation for comments:</div>
<div> </div>
<font face="DejaVuSansMono" size="1"><font face="DejaVuSansMono"
size="1">
<p align="left"><font color="#000066"><font
face="times new roman,serif" size="2">The USDA is notifying United
States </font><font face="times new roman,serif" size="2">stakeholders
of planned changes to the Canada/United States Greenhouse</font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font color="#000066"><font
face="times new roman,serif" size="2">Certification Program (GCP) and
to solicit stakeholder input on the </font><font
face="times new roman,serif" size="2">contents of an authorized plant
list that will replace the</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000066"><font face="times new roman,serif" size="2">list
of plants currently excluded from the program</font>.</font></p>
</font></font>It sounds like the decision to have a white list is
already in place. THe solicitation is only for comments about the
content of the white list, not its existence.
</blockquote>
<br>
On Friday I spoke with an official of the CFIA (the Canadian
counterpart to the USDA-APHIS) with direct knowledge of this proposal
and she confirmed that a white list policy is all but decided. She also
confirmed that the impetus for it came from the U.S. side. The only
question remaining, it seems, is what plants will be on the list. The
CFIA was seeking feedback from Canadian growers on what the impact of
the current list is and whether more plants need to be added. I also
learned on Friday that a committee charged with the responsibility of
deciding which plants should be on the list has been working on the
present list for three years and has already rejected thousands of
plants. <br>
<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:AANLkTin6RiEyJCMivo_Lw2WokqK_ek7Sex0gxb92XrT5@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div> </div>
<div>This is going to require an uproar.</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
Well, I wish it would, but it seems that those most affected by
quarantine regulation rarely seem to have a voice in these matters.
Gardeners and herbalists, for example, never seem to be consulted in
these matters. <br>
<br>
Although this particular initiative is limited to the joint Canada-USA
greenhouse certification program, it could be the thin edge of the
wedge for a future of white lists covering all botanical material. Even
the CFIA official -- and these officials are rarely this forthcoming --
agreed that the regulators are going after "low hanging fruit" by
targeting this joint program first. The majority of growers in the
program will likely acquiesce so they can continue to ship the common
trade plants that are on the present list. <br>
<br>
Surprisingly, at least two CFIA officials suggested to me that I spread
word of this consultation to colleagues in the U.S. It seems that they
don't approve of this move any more than the affected growers. <br>
<br>
Conrad Richter<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:AANLkTin6RiEyJCMivo_Lw2WokqK_ek7Sex0gxb92XrT5@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div> </div>
<div>best,</div>
<div>Gena Fleming</div>
<div><br>
<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On 24 October 2010 02:53, Conrad Richter <span
dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:conrad@richters.com">conrad@richters.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"
class="gmail_quote">
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"><br>
<span><span><b><span>"WHITE LIST" OF AUTHORIZED PLANTS (Canada and
U.S.)</span></b></span></span>
<p>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>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>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>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>Gardeners, herbalists, commercial growers, and the gardening and
herbal media are encouraged to submit comments.</p>
<p><b><font color="#cc0033">The deadline for comments is October
31, 2010.</font></b></p>
<p><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"
target="_blank">michael.d.ward@aphis.usda.gov)</a></p>
<p><b>Canada</b>: Email your comments to the CFIA (<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:horticulture@inspection.gc.ca?Subject=comments"
target="_blank">horticulture@inspection.gc.ca</a>)</p>
<p>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"
target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<pre cols="72">--
\_\ RICHTERS HERBS
/ / Goodwood, ON, L0C 1A0, Canada
\_\ Tel +1.905.640.6677 Fax +1.905.640.6641
/_/ <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.richters.com/"
target="_blank">http://www.richters.com</a></pre>
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</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
\_\ RICHTERS HERBS
/ / Goodwood, ON, L0C 1A0, Canada
\_\ Tel +1.905.640.6677 Fax +1.905.640.6641
/_/ <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.richters.com">http://www.richters.com</a></pre>
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