The Current Situation of Plant and Vegetable Defense Against Disease and Insect Pests in Canada
Introduction
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the government agency responsible for maintaining the quality and safety of food both produced in, and imported to Canada (CFIA, 2004). Recently, the Canadian agency has been confronted with several international disease issues associated with imported agriculture and livestock such as fungus-infected wheat from the Ukraine (Klassen, 2003), the BSE (bovine springform encephilopathy) agent (Evans, 2004), Avian Flu outbreak (Klassen, 2004), and the possibility of SARS in pigs and chickens (Franz-Warkentin, 2003). Yet the current situation of plant and vegetable disease and pest infection has compelled the agency to amend its current regulations under the CFIA Plant Protection Act. Golden nematode, potato wart, the Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALHB) and ash-free zone regulations are among some of the new amendments instituted in order to defend Canadian plants and vegetables against new insects and disease.
Current Conditions
