About 100 Winnipeggers joined protestors around the world Saturday to speak out against agriculture giant Monsanto and genetically modified crops.

The group gathered for a series of speeches at the Manitoba Legislative Building before marching to The Forks.

"The main focus here is about GMOs and their Roundup resistant crops,” said rally organizer Rose Stevens. “Basically what we are really upset about is the glyphosate."

The World Health Organizations cancer research agency recently released new findings listing glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans.

It’s a herbicide used by farmers across Canada in a common weed killer known as Roundup.

Monsanto sells many crops called ‘Roundup Ready’ that are resistant to the herbicide allowing farmers to kill invasive weeds and plants without damaging their primary crop.

Saturday’s protestors would like to see more government regulation of those crops.

"I think it would be good for the government to show that they're putting people first as opposed to these multi-million dollar companies,” said Shannon McGimpsey, a protestor.

Charles Fossay, vice-president of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association, plants genetically modified canola in his fields near Starbuck, Manitoba.

"The canola's just starting to emerge and it just happens to be a Roundup Ready variety of canola,” said Fossay in one of his fields Saturday afternoon.

According to Fossay, non-GMO canola can be susceptible to pests and has to compete with weeds and other plants for vital nutrients.

He says it yields about 25 bushels per acre but he expects to get double that from his Roundup Ready fields.

"There's virtually no greater risk in herbicide tolerant genetically modified crops, whether it's corn, soybeans or canola, than it is in non-GMO crops,” said Fossay.

Back at the protest, Ashley Watsko says since GMO’s are already in such widespread use in the country she would like to see labelling requirements for foods that contain them.

"You should know everything that's being put inside your body and we don't have that choice because it's not being labelled,” said Watsko.

Genetically modified foods do not currently require special labelling in Canada.