In the early 2000s, the actions of the "voluntary crop destroyers" and the Confédération Paysanne (Peasant Confederation) helped to regulate and limit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the European Union (EU). The EU, with the help of agribusiness and powerful agricultural unions, is attempting to push through seeds that will no longer be classified as GMOs. A GMO is obtained by introducing a portion of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or a gene from another species into the genome of a living organism in order to give it new capabilities: transgenesis. For example, "Monsanto 810" corn, obtained by introducing a gene of bacterial origin, allows the plant to produce an insecticidal molecule.
"GMO-Lite" Seeds
The European right wing is trying to find a way to allow the marketing of new genetically modified seeds. It is supported by agribusiness and intensive farming unions, led by one of France's most powerful lobbies for the productivist agricultural model: the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA).
New genomic techniques (NGTs), which can also be called "GMO-lite," artificially introduce a gene from another variety of the same species. The risks will not be reduced; quite the contrary, because these NGTs, being considered traditional seeds, will not be subject to the regulations governing GMOs. As a result, most GMOs/NGTs will no longer be evaluated or labeled. Consumers who do not want them will thus unknowingly buy them.
Farmers will have no guarantee that the seeds they buy are not GMOs/NGTs. Small seed companies could easily be sued for trademark infringement, as they would be unable to prove that their seeds naturally contain genetic information similar to that described in the industrial patent. The risk of these mutants cross-pollinating with plants in their immediate environment cannot be ruled out. These crops could therefore contaminate organic (and non-GMO) crops. Adding insult to injury, the agribusiness industry has managed to make farmers solely responsible for any environmental and health damage caused by GMOs/NTGs!
In early December, Members of the European Parliament and EU Member States reached an agreement to allow the introduction of GMOs/NTGs. This agreement still requires formal adoption by the Member States in the Council and by MEPs in a final plenary vote before it can enter into force.
Protest march against Monsanto and GMOs in May 2025.
William Murphy
Moreover, Pascal Canfin, a Macron-Green MEP, hails this as "excellent news," with "more solutions to combat water shortages, drought, and rising temperatures." Let's not fall into this trap that would have us believe that technology will save us from disaster. The cultivation of GMOs worldwide for over 30 years has never been an answer to climate change or the decline in biodiversity. Only small-scale, local agriculture, free from the dependence on multinational agribusinesses, will be able to feed us adequately and reduce the impact of human activities on the environment.
C. (UCL Fougères)
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Nouvelles-techniques-genomiques-La-FNSEA-et-l-agro-industrie-forcent-pour-plus
_________________________________________
Link: (en) France, UCL AL #368 - Ecology - New Genomic Techniques: The FNSEA and Agribusiness Push for More GMOs (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten