Brazilian farmers protest transgenic grain shipment

By Mario Osava

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, July 25 (IPS)— A ship carrying genetically altered maize was attacked Tuesday in northeast Brazil by some 1,500 farmers and unionists who protested the unfair competition in agricultural markets presented by this low-cost grain.

The protesters’ invasion of the ship, the Antillanca, and its cargo of 11,600 tons of Argentinean-grown maize, which was found to contain genetically modified kernels, did not cause damage to the product nor did it lead to confrontations with the police.

The mobilization against the shipment in the port of Recife, capital of Pernambuco state, had the support of unionists from a major workers’ central and activists from leftist parties and civil society organizations.

The demonstration was part of a wave of protests led by the Movimento dos Sem Terra (MST, landless movement) throughout the country in a “rural uprising’’ to demand new agricultural policies from the national government.

Protest leaders condemned the import of Argentinean maize, cheaper because it is a transgenic product, to the detriment of the national crop. They said such imports aggravate the difficult situation of Brazilian farmers because they represent unfair competition, especially in the northeast, the poorest region in the country.

The farmers’ movement has now added its voice to a fight maintained by environmental and consumer protection organizations, whose legal petitions have obstructed the commercial planting of transgenic seeds in Brazil and blocked their import.

Local poultry farmers were able to win the release of a previous 38,000-ton shipment of Argentinean maize after a two- month legal battle. They argued that grain imports were essential to prevent the paralysis of chicken production in the region.

In that case they had the support of the National Bio-safety Technical Commission, an office of the Ministry of Science and Technology entrusted with assessing the risks of genetically modified organisms.

The commission approved the maize shipment, though with the condition that it is used exclusively for animal feed and that due care be taken to prevent its use as seed, with rigorous control in seed processing.

But the authorities have authorized the unloading of the Antillanca shipment - 11,600 tons of maize that include transgenic grains, out of a total cargo of 18,900 tons - without specifying its final destination.

The poultry farmers decided that, given the protests, they would suspend their order for another 75,000 tons of maize from Argentina and await official word on further imports. Recent harvests in the region ensure short-term grain supplies for the local market, explained the Poultry Association of Pernambuco.

The MST’s previous protests have included the blockade of a highway in southern Brazil and of a bridge on the Argentinean border to demand an end to imports of products that compete with nationally produced crops.

Hundreds of peasants also blocked access to one of the US-based Monsanto corporation’s office building. The firm, a top producer of transgenic seeds, is caught up in a major national and international debate on genetically altered organisms.

The Brazilian government’s agricultural policy favors transnationals like Monsanto and jeopardizes national farming -- and must be changed, according to Joao Pedro Stédile, MST leader. The problem, he says, is that the rural condition can only improve if changes are implemented throughout the entire national economy.

The Brazilian Consumer Defense Institute has led the legal actions that have so far prevented commercial planting of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soya by stressing the lack of research on the product’s impact on the environment and human health.

Environmental minister José Sarney Filho supported the non-governmental organization’s legal initiatives, demanding more studies into the consequences of cultivating genetically altered products.

But just last week, he and five other government ministers signed a letter defending the use of transgenic technology in Brazil. Sarney Filho attempted to explain his position saying such innovations must comply with national laws and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Minister of Agriculture Marcus Pratini de Moraes has taken a firm stance in defense of technological advances, arguing that Brazil cannot waste an opportunity to improve its productivity. He predicts the country’s next harvest season will include transgenic grains.

But other ministry officials and farmers fear Brazil will lose buyers in Europe, the principal market for the country’s agricultural exports, as European governments have so far shunned genetically modified products.

The state government of Rio Grande do Sul banned cultivation of genetically altered seeds within its territory. The MST, which fights for broad agrarian reform in Brazil, supports the state law and has threatened to burn any illegal transgenic crops -- thought to be planted with seeds smuggled in from Argentina.