2004 articles

"The question will be resolved this week ... maybe in a question of hours" - Brazils' pro-GM Ag Minister Roberto Rodrigues

PLEASE CIRCULATE ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND CONTACTS and ask them to contact Lula URGENTLY (contact details below) to ask him to honour his statement that he would not give special permission this year for the planting of GMOs.

As the article below shows his agribiz Agriculture Minister's star appears to be still in the ascendent but as Newsweek has just reported, "there is dissonance at the highest levels in Brasilia over how to handle everything from monetary policy to genetically modified soybeans."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6214136/site/newsweek/

THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE to support all those in the Brazilian Government and Brazil's civil society who are urging Lula to stand up to Rodrigues and the agribiz lobby and to defend the rights of Brazil's small farmers and landless labourers, its consumers, and its GM Free regions, and to protect Brazil's environment and biosafety.

You can send your protest to Lula by just going to this link - it only takes a minute:
http://www.gmwatch.org/proemail1.asp?id=5

And remember even if Lula does grant special permission, the letter urges him to ensure proper biosafety liegislation, proper GM food labelling and to respect the rights of those agricultural states in Brazil that have declared themselves GMO free zones.
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Brazil to Announce GMO Solution This Week - Ag Min
http://www.andalecoop.com/articles.asp?article=27889

Brazil will agree to rules governing the planting of genetically modified soybeans during the 2004-05 season this week, Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues said Thursday.

With farmers already planting GM soybeans in the south of Brazil - regardless of the fact it is illegal under current rules - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could issue a decree legalizing its use, just as he did for the 2003-04 season, he said.

"The question will be resolved this week ... maybe in a question of hours," Rodrigues said on the timing of any decree. He said he had been talking to government ministers about GMOs Thursday.

Brazil is the last major agricultural exporter to legislate GMOs. Environmental and consumer rights groups have waged a six-year battle to prevent the government from allowing their use. But illegal use gradually grew and now accounts for around 30 percent of the total crops, according to seed associations.

The Senate approved a biosafety bill on Wednesday, which opens the way for GMOs. But the bill must still be voted on by the lower house, which has a full agenda.

Rodrigues said the government realized it needed immediate legislation for the current harvest and said there was a possibility the biosafety bill could be attached to another vote to be made in the next few days.

Another alternative would be the lifting of the legal barriers to the planting of GMOs. Industry sources believe a federal tribunal may overturn an injunction on the production and sale of Monsanto's RoundUp Ready beans in the next few days, freeing its use.

Many in the government would prefer to avoid issuing another decree, which would cause a face-off in the cabinet between the pro-GMO lobby, led by Rodrigues, and those against GMOs, led by Environment Minister Marina Silva.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires
- Alastair Stewart, Osterdowjones Commodity Wire, 7 October 2004