GM

The report, launched on the eve of the release of industry-sponsored figures on the adoption of GM crops, highlights how even pro-GM governments in South America and the United States have been forced to take steps to mitigate the negative impacts of GM crops on farmers, citizens and the environment.

In South America, the Brazilian Government has launched a GM-free soy programme to help farmers access non-GM soy seeds. In Argentina new research has exposed that the herbicide Glyphosate, used on the majority of GM crops grown worldwide, could have severe negative impacts on human health. This has led to bans on spraying of the herbicide near people’s homes. In Uruguay, local areas are declaring themselves GM-free.

Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty coordinator Martin Drago said,

"Farmers and citizens in South America are bearing the burden of ten years of GM crops with widespread health disasters and rising costs. The myths on which the biotech industry is built are crumbling.

The havoc wreaked across South America shows that this technology is not compatible with sustainable farming. It is a wake up call for the rest of the world to move towards more ecological methods of farming."

Read "Who Benefits from GM crops? An industry built on myths"

Here is a short film showing the action. Spanish starts after 42 seconds!

The International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty (IPC) met recently to decide the future of the FAO Seed Treaty (ITPGRFA), an agreement seeking to address the issues of the global agricultural system by protecting seed diversity and implementing peasants' rights.  The debate was an important milestone ahead of the scheduled food crisis summit in Rome in November and the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December. 

25 countries, representing peasant, pastoralist, and indigenous organizations took part in the treaty negotiations.  After two days, the representatives demanded the following:

• In light of the food emergency there must be a suspension of all intellectual property rights and other regulations that prevent farmers from saving and exchanging non-GMO seed.

• There must be a major financial commitment to save seed in the field, for the conservation of genetic diversity in the field, and to prevent and monitor biopiracy.
  

• There must be an end to the monopoly practices of multinational seed companies who are controlling seeds.

• Governments must involve farmers in decision making every step of the way, and  must implement the treaty’s decision on Farmers’ Rights.

Read the full statement released by Friends of the Earth International, the International Coordination Committee, La Via Campesina and many others here.

New: Rice is the most consumed cereal grain in the world, constituting the dietary staple food for more than half of the planet’s human population. About 80% of the world's rice is grown by small-scale farmers in developing countries. Now our rice is under threat of being contaminated with genetic engineered varieties developed by the biotech industry and some scientists.

Unapproved gm rice found: ban on Chinese rice imports urgently needed

Unapproved gm rice found in the US

See FoEI briefing paper: GM Rice: a new threat to our food supply , September 2006

Numerous cases of contamination of non-GM crops by unauthorised, illegal or undesired GM crops have occurred following the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment. From Europe to North America, Asia to Latin America, once a GMO is released contamination has no boundaries. The contamination cases we see today are of huge concern, particularly because the contamination we know about is probably just the tip of the iceberg in comparison to that which we do not yet know. See GMO Contamination around the world.

Friends of the Earth has monitored the seed and food supply all over the world for the presence of illegal or inauthorized GMOs in every continent since 2000.

StarLink and other unauthorized GMOs found in the food chain around the world

In 2000 FoE US leaded the discovery of StarLink, a GM maize variety no t authorised for human consumption as food because of the potential allergenicity of the protein Cry9C that was genetically engineered into the maize. Nevertheless, in 2000 StarLink was discovered in ‘Taco Bell’ taco shells, a maize-derived food product eaten in the US purchased by FoE US Larry Bohlen. The magnitude and gravity of the StarLink contamination was breathtaking. More than 300 corn products were recalled across the United States. Despite the fact that StarLink was only planted on 0.4 per cent of total US corn acreage, the number of acres contaminated was much greater. More surprisingly, the contamination was not confined to just StarLink-branded seeds.

Larry Bohlen (Friends of the Earth US) tests supermarket products for illegal starlink corn

At the June 2002 United Nations World Food Summit in Rome, Latin American NGOs announced that StarLink had been found in US food aid in Bolivia. See Playing with Hunger

StarLink was found five years later again in Central America.

Biopharmaceuticals

The US experience provides another example of a major concern for the environment: “biopharmaceuticals”. “Biopharming” is an experimental application of biotechnology in which plants are genetically engineered to produce pharmaceutical proteins and chemicals that they do not produce naturally. A few known examples include a contraceptive, potent growth hormones, a blood clotting agent, blood thinners, industrial enzymes, and vaccines.

• terminator seeds : Hope Shand from ETC Group (1min 49sec - 8.9mb).
• biosafety : Ricarda Steinbrecher from EcoNexus (1min 35sec - 7 mb).