monsanto messes with georgian
potatoes
In May 1996, between 133 and 148 tons of
Monsanto's “NewLeaf” Bt potatoes were
imported into Georgia . These GM seed
potatoes, from the US and Canada , were
planted in traditional potato growing
regions in Georgia .
Civil society in Georgia , including
Friends of the Earth, protested vocally
against the import and cultivation of GM
potatoes, and organized a seminar about the
issue in the national parliament in August
1996. Despite the ban, approximately 300
tons of potatoes from the 1996 harvest were
replanted in 1997 across some 144 to 400
hectares. No detailed figures are
available, and so far it has been
impossible to track down the transgenic
potatoes. They may have been consumed by
humans, but they also might have been
exported to Azerbaijan or Russia and mixed
with non-GM potatoes.
Moreover, the production of Monsanto's
GM potatoes failed in Georgia , leading to
commercial losses and debts for the farmers
who cultivated them. The 1996 harvest was
extremely low: instead of the estimated
18-22 tons per hectare, farmers only
harvested some 8 tons per hectare. Some of
the official reasons given for the failure
were that the Bt potatoes were not adapted
to local conditions, that the planting was
done too late, and that the potatoes were
affected by a fungus.
Unfortunately, neither Monsanto nor the
Georgian Minister of Agriculture has
assessed the negative ecological or health
impacts of this transgenic potato. No
adequate plan for resistance management was
carried out for Monsanto's Bt potato
harvest in Georgia , nor were farmers
informed about the fact that they were
sowing GM seeds. Additionally, no
monitoring of the potential development of
beetle resistance to the Bt toxin was
undertaken.
hands off ukrainian
potatoes!
The Ukraine 's history with GM crops
started in 1997, when Monsanto imported 37
tons of the “NewLeaf” Bt potato for test
purposes. Another 367 tons of GM potato
seeds entered the country the following
year.
GM protesters in
Georgia.
In the meantime, the public demonstrated
their concerns about the dissemination of
GM plants and the potential risks of GMOs
in general. Government authorities also
took interest in the issue. Consequently,
in 1999, the Ministry of Agriculture
refused to allow more GM potatoes to be
grown as food.
Subsequently, biotech corporations began
a widespread public and political pressure
campaign to obtain official permission to
plant GMOs. In 2000, a draft law with a
clear orientation towards the wishes of the
biotech industry was prepared. The law
contained very weak provisions on biosafety
(the safety of GMOs), and did not provide
adequate measures to address the potential
risks GM crops could have for the
environment and for human health. The
public was excluded from participating in
the drafting of the law, and Friends of the
Earth, civil society and some parliamentary
groups exerted pressure until the law was
finally rejected in the Ukrainian
Parliament in January 2001.
“The Georgian Ministry of the
Environment demonstrates its negative
attitude to the imports of transgenic
potatoes and their cultivation. We're not
convinced that it's safe. […] The question
of the imports and tests with such
organisms should be considered in every
country as a problem of national
safety.”
Mrs. Nino Chkhobadze, Minister of the
Environment in Georgia .
more information:
Friends of the Earth Georgia:
www.greens.ge
Friends of the Earth Ukraine:
www.zsfoe.org
