Earlier today Greenpeace also handed over to the Clearinghouse
and Secretariat of the UN-Agreement a ground-breaking Contamination
Report documenting 113 incidents of contamination, illegal releases
and negative agricultural impacts of genetically engineered
crops.(2)
"What's at stake at this meeting is environmental and consumer
safety," said Greenpeace International's GE expert Benedikt Haerlin
from the meeting in Curitiba. "This time it is imperative that the
international community gets it right - it must ensure that
genetically engineered food and feed will not ultimately be spread
on to unsuspecting producers and consumers in importing countries.
The majority of developing countries without national GMO
legislation in place are dependent on the International Biosafety
Protocol to protect them."
At the last set of negotiations of the Protocol in 2005, a
powerful coalition of trade, agro-industry and science lobbyists in
alliance with the USA, Canada and Argentina, who have not ratified
the Protocol, successfully lobbied to prevent clear labelling rules
and promoted meaningless "may contain GMOs" language instead.
Protocol members Brazil and New Zealand finally blocked a draft
agreement on Article 18.2 (a) which provides for identification of
international shipments of LMOs intended for feed, food and
processing.
"Brazilian President Ignacio Lula has a golden opportunity at
this meeting in his own country to show leadership on the
Protocol," said Haerlin. "Lula and his cabinet must put the
protection of biodiversity and the poor countries of the world
above the demands and interests of the likes of the US and of
Agro-industry giants like Monsanto and Cargill."
"Greenpeace and GeneWatch's GM Contamination Report may just
cover the tip of the iceberg - contamination is spreading much
faster than we can document it - but it is undeniable proof of
the need for global bio-safety and labelling standards of GE
crops," concluded Haerlin.(3)
Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organisation that uses
non-violent creative confrontation to expose global environmental
problems to force solutions that are essential to a green and
peaceful future
Media Enquiries:
Benedikt Haerlin, Greenpeace International spokesperson, +55 411
682 3117
Michael Kessler, Greenpeace International Communications, +34
660 637 053
Notes to Editors:
(1). The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety under the Convention on
Biological Diversity is an international treaty to establish
minimum international safety standards for genetically engineered
organisms ratified by 132 states. http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety
(2). The GM Contamination Register is online at www.gmcontaminationregister.org
The full report, co-authored by Greenpeace and GeneWatch UK, is
also available at www.greenpeace.org/bsp2006
(3). An overview of national legislation on imports and
labelling of GE organisms world wide including a map of potential
GE dumping grounds as well as import and export figures is
available online at http://www.greenpeace.org/bsp2006