60 likes | 263 Views
For GMO free Russia !. January, 2006 Victoria Kolesnikova CIS Alliance for Biosafety Moscow, Russia. General Situation and NGO activities. Due to wide public and expert resistance Russia does NOT grow ANY GMO-crops BUT:
E N D
ForGMOfreeRussia! January, 2006 Victoria Kolesnikova CIS Alliance for Biosafety Moscow, Russia
General Situation and NGO activities • Due to wide public and expert resistance Russia does NOT grow ANY GMO-crops BUT: Lobbyists say - Russia soon will face “Brazil variant”. Illegal plantations of soy and potato will be discovered and legalized. Nobody controls anything. CIS Alliance for Biosafety E-mail: eremurus@mtu-net.ru, biosafety_ru@yahoo.com URL: www.biosafety.ru
General Situation • GMO labeling amendment to federal Consumer law is in force since 2005 BUT – there are still no required bylaws (“technical regalements”) regulating unlabeled threshold of GMO and biosafety measures. • There are rulings of Health Ministry (introduced earlier as separate document) – 0,9% of permitted unlabeled GMO content in food products BUT - almost ALL manufacturers violate them. CIS Alliance for Biosafety E-mail: eremurus@mtu-net.ru, biosafety_ru@yahoo.com URL: www.biosafety.ru
General Situation • President Putin is more likely against GMOs • Several regional governments are criticizing GMOs • BUT there is a strong lobbying group in federal government pushing TNCs’ interests and helping pro-GMO scientists (working to insert TNCs’ genes in Russian varieties) to receive federal budget money CIS Alliance for Biosafety E-mail: eremurus@mtu-net.ru, biosafety_ru@yahoo.com URL: www.biosafety.ru
General Situation GM-crops, approved for human consumption: • Soy (3 lines) – Monsanto (2), Bayer (1) • Maize (6lines) – Monsanto (4), Syngenta (1), Bayer (1) • Potato (2 lines) - Monsanto • Sugarbeat (1 line) – Monsanto/Syngenta • Rice (1 line) – Bayer Approved GM-feed: Only Monsanto sells GM-feed to Russia (4 lines of maize) CIS Alliance for Biosafety E-mail: eremurus@mtu-net.ru, biosafety_ru@yahoo.com URL: www.biosafety.ru
GMO-free Activities • GMO free activities started in Russia 3 years ago. (AntiGMO campaign as such started much earlier – in 1997). • Activities to introduce moratorium on GMO growing and GMO using in babyfood • Promotion of GMO free zones idea - wide distribution of previous Berlin Conference Manifesto, which has been cited by many specialists and some members of federal parliament • Declaration of GMO free zones – Moscow authorities and NGOs are willing to declare Moscow GMO free zone CIS Alliance for Biosafety E-mail: eremurus@mtu-net.ru, biosafety_ru@yahoo.com URL: www.biosafety.ru