MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – Global opposition to genetically modified foods has grown wider and stronger as more countries ban artificial foods and ecologists and consumers take to the streets to protest against synthetic plant hormones.
Saturday saw rallies against genetically modified foods take place in 52 countries and more than 400 cities as part of the global March Against Monsanto (MAM). Monsanto, based in Missouri in the United States, is the world's largest producer of genetically engineered seeds.
"Monsanto’s predatory business and corporate agricultural practices threatens their (children's) generation’s health, fertility and longevity. MAM supports a sustainable food production system. We must act now to stop GMOs and harmful pesticides," movement organizer Tami Monroe Canal said in a statement.
In central Moscow, around 30 ecologists gathered in a flash-mob with slogans "Russia without GMO", "GMO free" and "Occupy Monsanto." The demonstration, Russia’s third such protest, also involved live pigs and chickens.
In the UK, more than 800 scientists have now signed the Open Letter from World Scientists to All Governments Concerning Genetically Modified Organisms, an ongoing statement dating to 1999 and updated constantly. The letter urges the US Congress "to reject GM crops as both hazardous and contrary to the interest of family farmers; and to support research and development of sustainable agricultural methods that can truly benefit family farmers all over the world."
GMO production and import has been fully or partially banned in the European Union and several US states, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria and other countries.
The latest ban was imposed by Jackson County in Southern Oregon last Tuesday, after it was revealed that a Swiss company, Syngenta, was growing genetically modified sugar beets in one of the local fields. Out of 50 US states, 47 saw protests as part of the March on Monsanto.
Russia plans to join the list of GMO-free states. Last month, however, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev postponed the introduction of a certification process, required for Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, for three years, saying "we’re simply not ready" and the decree needed to be updated.
The total area of fields cultivating GM crops worldwide has been growing exponentially in recent years, nearly reaching 150 million hectares in 22 countries. The US, Argentina and Canada are the leading producers and exporters of GM crops and products, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
To protect their fields, some 163 countries have ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, but the US not one of them as it relies heavily on wheat exports.
Wheat, potato, tomato, pepper, rice, maize, flax and other crops are subject to genetic modification. The scientific technology has also been used in biofuel production, doubling energy output between 2006 and 2011, FAO data shows.
