NEWS FROM BRAZIL supplied by SEJUP (Servico
Brasileiro de Justica e Paz).
Number 486, April 17, 2003
Brazilians left without measures to identify Genetically Modified Organisms
in food products
Foods which contain soy products are now suspect since President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva signed Provisionary Measure 131 authorizing
commercialization of genetically modified soy . Currently, some farmers
are cultivating the soy illegally in Rio Grande do Sul. To add to the
situation, consumers are faced with another difficulty: how to know if a
given soy product contains a GMO (genetically modified organism) or not.
One of the articles of the measure demands that all products that use GMO's
indicate as such on the label. However, specialists are saying that this
is not going to be an easy task. Carlos Sperotto, the president of the
Farmers' Federation of Rio Grande do Sul (a group which will benefit from
the Measure 131) admitted that it will be impossible to label the GMO soy
because the total harvest is sold in huge volumes, and GMO soy is harvested
together with conventional soy.
Without labeling, the consumer will have now way of knowing if the product
contains GMO's. "If the farmers do not do the identification, then the
government should take responsibility of the risks. As it is, you are
awarding the producer who is breaking the law and you are penalizing the
population," said Marlene Lazzarini, coordinator of the Institute in
Defense of the Consumer (Idec).
The new measure stipulates a US$6,000 fine for those who do not do the
identification. Lazzarini announced that Idec will test all of the
products derived from soy. If a component of a GMO is found without
identification, the industry will be penalized. "So the industry will
blame the farmer who didn't identify the product and the government will
have to resolve one more problem."
According to Jean Marc von der Weid, the coordinator of the "Brazil Free of
GMO's campaign,
the federal government gave in to the political pressure exercised by
large-scale farmers and by Monsanto, the U.S. based company that retains
the patent on Roundup Ready soy (which uses GMO's). Mr. von der Weid
theorized that Monsanto has a geo-political strategy to destroy Brazil's
conventional soy market, which is the world's largest exporter of
conventional soy. "From their point of view, if Brazil surrenders, the
other countries resistance to GMO's will also give in."
Some policy makers suggested that if the government allows the production
of GMO's then at least this harvest should be exported. However, this
solution was vetoed as some said it would adversely affect the "Circulation
of Goods and Services Tax" of Rio Grande do Sul. According to the
governor, the state would lose nearly $US 300,000.
The genetically modified soy will be commercialized until January 31, 2004,
after which time the entire stock will be burned and the fields be cleared
of the soy before the 2004 crop. "This process of decontamination
guarantees that the next harvest will be conventional. This is a great
defeat for Monsanto," said Frei Sergio, coordinator of the "Movement
of
Small Farmers." However, he noted that the federal government will need to
be rigorous in monitoring the fields. "Next year, the social movements
will have great difficulties in preserving conventional seeds."
The use of GMO's has yet to be properly evaluated in terms of health-risks.
In the U.S., no studies have been done to determine if certain diseases or
illnesses are a result of the consumption of GMO's. As a precautionary
measure, European countries demand that products that contain GMO's be
labeled as such. According to Rubens Nodare of the Federal University of
Santa Catarina, the chemicals used on soy plants may provoke allergies.
This is because soy has three types of allergenic proteins. Genetically
modified soy can contain a greater quantity of the these proteins.
Besides health concerns, there are environmental concerns. The Brazilian
Constitution stipulates that a thorough environmental impact study must be
conducted before allowing any sort of activity which may be dangerous to
the environment. "To allow for the commercialization in this country is
not only an affront to the consumer, but a break from the Federal
Constitution," commented Ventura Barbeiro, an agricultural engineer.
Brief History of the Juridical Battle over GMO's
1995--Implementation of the Law of Bio-security and the creation of the
National Technical Commission of Bio-security (CTNBio). Use of GMO's must
have the authorization of this Commission.
1996--Monsanto begins research with genetically-modified soy in Brazil
1998--CTNBio approves of the use of Monsanto's Roundup Ready soy in the
south of the country. The authorization was given without an environmental
impact study. The consumer watchdog group Idec obtained a court order
barring CTNBio's authorization.
2000--Judge Antonio Prudente extends the court order that prohibited the
planting of GMO's. The Union and Monsanto try to appeal the decision, but
their appeal was denied.
2002--The Union and Monsanto make a new motion which is sill pending vote
in the Federal Regional Tribunal. One of the tree judges has already
indicated she is in favor of the use of GMO's in the country.
A Few Facts about GMO's
-Nearly 99% of all cultivated GMO's are only in four countries: United
States, Canada, Argentina, and China.
-There are already 30 countries which prohibit the cultivation of GMO's.
-The majority of countries require labeling o GMO's on food products if the
GMO's make up more than 5% of the product.
-Nearly 80% of Europeans do not want to consume products with GMO's.
-What is increasing in the world is not the cultivation of GMO's , put the
cultivation of organic products. It is estimated that in 2005 nearly one
fourth of all agriculture will be organic.
-If the Brazilian government permits the cultivation of GMO's, five
transnational companies will completely dominate the corn, soy, wheat and
cotton seed markets. This puts at risk the country's sovereignty, relying
on the good will of these companies.
-During the Fernando Henrique Cardoso presidency, the government gave a
low-interest US$250 million loan to Monsanto for the construction of a
factory which produces "Glifosato." Glifosato is the prime material of
the
Roundup herbicides, generally sold with Roundup Ready genetically-altered
seeds. The former president therefore helped to lay the groundwork for the
production of genetically-altered seeds.
-If the government had used the aforesaid money to construct domestic water
wells in the semi- arid Northeast, the problem of potable water would have
been solved for one million families.
Source: Brasil de Fato and Via Campesina
The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is
cited.
The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is cited. If you wish to contact us, send a message to braziljusticenet@braziljusticenet.org. If you wish to be removed from our email list, go to http://braziljusticenet.org/subscribe.htm, type in your email address, and click "unsubscribe" button.