Press release - 21 August, 2003
Greenpeace last night filed a legal petition to the Federal Regional Court in Brasilia demanding the suspension of a provisional decision taken on August 12^th by Chief Judge Selene Maria de Almeida. Last week, Ms. de Almeida appeared to dismiss the 2000 ruling by the 6^th Federal Court, which bans the planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready soya in Brazil. Currently Brazil is the largest supplier of non-GE soya for the EU and world markets.
Greenpeace urges, in its legal petition, that the original
sentence from the 6^th Federal Court be upheld. In the meantime
commercial planting of GMOs remains prohibited in Brazil. The
Brazilian environment minister herself has pledged this week that
even if a legal ban is lifted it will not exempt companies from
also having to undergo environmental impact studies for their GE
crops. Conama (National Environmental Council)'s Resolution 305
from June 12^th 2002 already requires the environmental licensing
of any activity related to GMOs that may be introduced into the
environment.
Greenpeace`s understanding of the legal situation is that if the
legal ban on GE crops is ever lifted, vigorous Environmental Impact
Studies (EIA/RIMA, in Portuguese) will still be required for each
GMO case. Moreover, the basic legislation required for food safety
and to adequately address biosafety concerns, as well as provide
full traceability and labelling of GMOs should be in place before
any GE crops are legally allowed on the market.
The chief judge's decision and Greenpeace's appeal come at the
same time that the entire country is waiting for legislation (the
so-called "Law Project"), which is expected to more fully address
the GE issue in Brazil. The Civil House ministry, run by President
Lula's right hand José Dirceu, is expected within the next days to
present the "Law Project" to the National Congress.
Mariana Paoli of Greenpeace in Brazil said, " Monsanto is
increasing its pressure because the soya sowing season is nearing,
but we should not make GE decisions in a hurry for Monsanto`s sake.
Monsanto hopes to make a huge profit, literally billions of dollars
from sales of GE seeds and the associated chemicals in Brazil. We
know that Monsanto can afford to buy many expensive lawyers in
Brazil but we hope and trust that the President of Brazil is not
for sale. The government should make a responsible decision--one
which respects consumers and the environment, and which takes into
account the diverse sectors of our society that this decision would
affect. President Lula's government must stand by the side of the
Brazilian consumers and farmers and not give in to the pressure
from Monsanto."
Notes: According to a survey conducted for Greenpeace in December 2002 by IBOPE in Brazil, the Brazilian public is opposed to GE crops planting and GE food: 71 percent of the public prefer non-GE food, and 65 percent believe that planting of GE crops should be prohibited. Whatever happens legally, market forces have already created a huge demand for non-GE soya from Brazil. Major Brazilian food companies have already reacted to public opinion in Brazil and in Brazilian export markets and have committed to provide non-GE food. This includes the two biggest Brazilian food companies Perdigao and Sadia. The State of Parana (the second biggest soya producing state in Brazil) has imposed strict measures to prevent GE contamination of non-GE soya and other states such as Mato Grosso do Sul and Santa Catarina already have local laws that ban GMOs as has Rio de Janeiro.