permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>]

VENEZUELA: Chavez dumps Monsanto
Sunday, April 29, 2007 1:34 PM

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced that the
cultivation of genetically modified crops will be prohibited on
Venezuelan soil, possibly establishing the most sweeping restrictions on
transgenic crops in the western hemisphere.

Though full details of the administration's policy on genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) are still forthcoming, the statement by
President Hugo Chavez will lead most immediately to the cancellation of
a contract that Venezuela had negotiated with the US-based Monsanto
Corporation.

Before a recent international gathering of supporters in Caracas, Chavez
admonished genetically engineered crops as contrary to interests and
needs of the nation's farmers and farmworkers. He then zeroed in on
Monsanto's plans to plant up to 500,000 acres of transgenic soybeans in
Venezuela.

"I ordered an end to the project", said Chavez, upon learning that
transgenic crops were involved. "This project is terminated."

Chavez emphasised the importance of food sovereignty and security -
required by the Venezuelan Constitution - as the basis of his decision.
Instead of allowing Monsanto to grow its transgenic crops, these fields
will be used to plant yuca, an indigenous crop, Chavez explained. He
also announced the creation of a large seed bank facility to maintain
indigenous seeds for peasants' movements around the world.

The international peasants' organisation Via Campesina, representing
more than 60 million farmers and farmworkers, had brought the issue to
the attention of the Chavez administration when it learned of the
contract with Monsanto. According to Rafael Alegria, secretary for
international operations of Via Campesina, both Monsanto and Cargill are
seeking authorisation to produce transgenic soy products in Venezuela.

"The agreement was against the principles of food sovereignty that guide
the agricultural policy of Venezuela", said Alegria when informed of the
president's decision. "This is a very important thing for the peasants
and indigenous people of Latin America and the world."

Alegria has good reason to be concerned. With a long history of social
and environmental problems, Monsanto won early international fame with
its production of the chemical Agent Orange - the Vietnam War defoliant
linked to miscarriages, tremors, and memory loss that more than 1
million people were exposed to. More recently, the company has been
criticised for side-effects that its transgenic crops and bovine growth
hormone (rBGH) are believed to have on human health and the environment.

Closer to home in Venezuela, Monsanto manufactures the pesticide
"glyphosate", which is used by the neighbouring Colombian government as
part of its Plan Colombia offensive against coca production and rebel
groups. The Colombian government aerially sprays hundreds of thousands
of acres, destroying legitimate farms and natural areas like the
Putomayo rainforest, and posing a direct threat to human health,
including that of indigenous communities.

"If we want to achieve food sovereignty, we cannot rely on
transnationals like Monsanto", said Maximilien Arvelaiz, an adviser to
Chavez. "We need to strengthen local production, respecting our heritage
and diversity."

Alegria hopes that Venezuela's move will serve as encouragement to other
nations contemplating how to address the issue of GMOs.

"The people of the United States, of Latin America, and of the world
need to follow the example of a Venezuela free of transgenics", he said.