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Update from the GM-Free Brazil Campaign
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Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | 09 June 2009

On May 18th Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of the US company Dow Chemical, issued a request to the National Technical Commission for Biosafety (CTNBio) to undertake field trials with a GM soya variety tolerant to the 2,4-D herbicide.

Affiliated to Brazil’s Ministry of Science and Technology, CTNBio is responsible for analyzing and authorizing the release of GM organisms in Brazil. Since its creation in 1996, its actions have consistently shown an intransigent defence of transgenic crops and a highly questionable level of technical rigour.

Glyphosate-tolerant soya has been widely planted in Brazil for years and, inevitably, has already led to the development of resistance in some wild plants, which are no longer controlled by the herbicide.

2,4-D, manufactured by Dow, is an auxinic herbicide considered much more toxic than glyphosate (itself toxic). Just to give an idea, glyphosate, whose harmful effects on the environment and human health have been widely denounced, is classified by Anvisa (Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency) as ‘Toxicological Class IV – Mildly Toxic.’ On the other hand, the 2,4-D herbicide is ‘Class I – Extremely Toxic.’

2,4-D was also one of the two components of the infamous ‘agent orange,’ the defoliant used in the Vietnam War responsible for thousands of cases of cancer, leukaemia and neurological pathologies, as well as the birth of countless babies with physical and mental problems.

Indeed, the launch of a variety of soya tolerant to such a harmful herbicide is so shocking that neither the company nor CTNBio had the courage to publicize the fact openly.

The Brazilian press reported that Dow would enter the Brazilian GM soya seed market with “a new herbicide-tolerant variety tolerant,” without specifying which herbicide was involved. A company director merely reported that the new variety would be tolerant to ‘auxins.’

CTNBio also omitted the information, referring generically to “genetically modified herbicide-tolerant soya.”

Dow’s requests for field trials include a maize tolerant to the 2,4-D and haloxyfop-R herbicides. The latter has not been given registration for use in the USA on the basis that it causes cancer and congenital defects in laboratory animals. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) classified it as a “probable human carcinogen.” Transgenic soya tolerant to haloxifop-R would have high levels of residues of a herbicide that has not been authorized for use even in its country of origin.

The formula GM soya + glyphosate represents a disaster for farmers and a threat to the health of consumers. Moreover, as everyone involved knows, its agricultural efficiency will last no more than a few years. The fact that Dow is preparing to launch crops tolerant to 2,4-D and haloxyfop-R only confirms the reports that glyphosate is no longer controlling weeds effectively. And to get round a problem created by themselves, the companies are proposing an alternative even more harmful than the first!

CTNBio’s scientists know as well as ourselves the devastating effects that this kind of production could provoke on a large scale. Even so, they are almost certain to favour the company by opening up a gigantic market for the herbicide, once again claiming that “the protein produced by the new GMO is safe” and that “it is not up to them to evaluate the toxicity of the herbicide.” If the Commission approves the field trials, there is a very good chance it will later approve commercial use of the GM crop. After all, as the argument goes within CTNBio, “it makes no sense for the company to conduct trials knowing that its produce won't be marketed in the future.”

Brazil’s National Congress has also done its part in defending Dow’s commercial interests. Last month, the Environment Commission of the Chamber of Deputies rejected three law bills designed to ban the use of agrochemicals containing 2,4-D. The proposal had also been rejected earlier by the Chamber’s Agriculture Commission.

We have no news of transgenic soya varieties tolerant to 2,4-D being approved in any other country. The companies apparently want to use Brazil as a point of entry for this disastrous technology.

It is worth remembering that Brazil is the world’s second largest exporter of soya (last year 24.5 million tons were shipped). The European Union imports around 36 million tons of soybean and soymeal each year, more than half of which comes from Brazil. Most of this soya is used to feed animals, which, if this aberration is approved, will consume extremely contaminated feed.

It is important to note too the complete lack of control in segregating Brazilian crops. The country’s mainstream media has highlighted the problem caused by widespread contamination of soya crops by GM varieties, which is making conventional and organic production impossible in various regions. According to all the large cooperatives and cereal producers, Brazil’s first harvest of transgenic maize, which is beginning to be harvested now, will not be separated from the conventional crop.

The producers complain that no infrastructure exists for segregating the crops in the country (no regulations for segregating maize have been issued) and that the government says that it will only actively intervene and inspect harvested produce if and when complaints are made. Absence of control reigns supreme in the field. A government representative went as far as to declare to one of the biggest Brazilian newspapers that “control is an unnecessary luxury.”

A campaign by European consumers and authorities aimed at dissuading Brazilian producers and authorities from approving the new 2,4-D tolerant variety would be extremely beneficial right now.

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GM-FREE BRAZIL - Published by AS-PTA Agricultura Familiar e Agroecologia. The GM-Free Brazil Campaign is a collective of Brazilian NGOs, social movements and individuals.

AS-PTA an independent, not-for-profit Brazilian organisation dedicated to promoting the sustainable rural development. Head office: Rua da Candelária, 9/6º andar/ CEP: 20.091-020, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Phone: 0055-21-2253-8317 Fax: 0055-21-2233-363

This article can be found on the AS-PTA website at http://www.aspta.org.br/por-um-brasil-livre-de-transgenicos/updates

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