36 Organic Mega-Countries Organic Sector Calls for Strict Liab ility Under the C

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36 Organic Mega-Countries Organic Sector Calls for Strict

Liab ility Under the Cartagena Protoc ol on Biosafe

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 00:14:16 +0100

Robert Vint

 

 

36 Organic Mega-Countries Global Organic Agriculture Crop Area Reaches

26 Million Hectares Organic Sector Calls for Strict Liability Under

the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

 

 

Bonn, May 30th 2005 †" Organic farming, the systematic conversion of

land to certified practices that ensure food safety and security from

the farm to the table, a comprehensive and fully traceable system, is

developing rapidly throughout the world. According to the

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement’s study The

World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2005, 36

countries achieved organic mega-country status in 2004, meaning that

over 50,000 hectares of certified organic land are currently being

cultivated. In total, over 26 million hectares of land are currently

certified worldwide, generating over $25 billion in revenue in 2003.

 

558,449 farms in 108 countries are currently certified, and many

millions of people are involved in the production, marketing,

processing and distribution of organic products, generating immense

income for a great number of people while simultaneously enhancing

biodiversity and protecting the environment for future generations.

 

Organic agriculture is a holistic system that promotes and enhances

biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.

Certified organic products are those which have been produced, stored,

processed, handled and marketed in accordance with precise technical

specifications (standards) and certified as organic by a certification

body. The use of GMOs within organic systems is not permitted during

any stage of organic food production, processing or handling.

 

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech

Applications (ISAAA) issues an annual report on the amount of global

biotech crop acreage. The 2005 report indicates that there were 14

biotech mega-countries in 2004 †" countries where more than 50,000

hectares or biotech crops are being grown. The figures, however, are

dubious. For instance, whereas the report claims that 500,000 biotech

hectares are being grown in South Africa, a report from Agricultural

Biotechnology in Europe, an industry coalition, and a survey team from

the University of Reading in the UK show that the ISAAA’s figures

are exaggerated by factors of 20 and 30 respectively, and a recent

report from GRAIN (www.grain.org) demonstrates that out of 3,000

farmers who originally grew Bt cotton there, only 700 continue to do,

and many farmers who chose to grow the cotton are now perilously in

debt. Also, 98% of the world's GM crops are still grown in only four

nations - USA, Canada, Argentina and a bit in China, which has

remained the same for the last five years.

 

Biotech crops grown in so-called biotech mega-countries are planted

indiscriminately without any substantive regulatory framework,

increasing reliance upon dangerous herbicides and pesticides, creating

super-weeds and destroying biodiversity in order to increase yields in

the short term, but ultimately rendering the cropland useless, while

simultaneously contaminating the world’s major food crops with

undesirable characteristics. This contamination is not something the

biotech industry should flaunt, but rather, the biotech industry

should be held strictly liable for all such contamination under the

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Biotech crops have been riddled by

scandal, from StarLink corn, which was not approved for human

consumption but nevertheless entered the food supply, prompting the

recall of over 300 contaminated food products from shelves in the USA

and continues to linger in the food supply, to the illegal entry of a

1000 tons of Bt10 into the European Union, also not approved for human

consumption, and the recent publication of internal Monsanto

documents, reviewed by EU scientists, revealing serious health damage

to laboratory animals fed Monsanto's new genetically engineered

" rootworm-resistant " corn. Rats who consumed the mutant corn developed

smaller kidneys and exhibited blood abnormalities.

 

Biotech crops containing industrial enzymes, pharmaceuticals, viruses,

antibiotic resistance markers and other traits have been planted in

large-scale field tests for years in the USA, but tests for those

experimental crops do not exist, and thus it is likely that

contamination of agricultural crops is much more widespread.

 

Alternatively, organic agriculture ensures food security and safety

for future generations, distributing income equitably among those

involved in the chain of production, and credibly backing up its

claims with thorough documentation. Organic agriculture also increases

or stabilizes yields in developing countries, particularly in marginal

and semi-arid areas, increasing productivity without dependency on

unaffordable chemicals. The IFOAM Basic Standards include social

standards that ensure the protection of workers’ rights. IFOAM

Accredited certifiers (www.ioas.org) adhere to these social standards,

and IFOAM is working together with the International Social and

Environmental Accreditation

and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance (www.isealalliance.org/) to improve the

effectiveness and compatibility of social and environmental standards

and verification systems.

 

IFOAM calls for strict liability to be imposed for the introduction of

GMOs. To insure that the costs of injuries resulting from defective

products are borne by the manufacturer that put such products on the

market rather than by the injured persons who are powerless to protect

themselves, strict liability for GMOs is warranted. Strict liability

ensures that organic farmers and consumer receive protection from

problems of proof inherent in pursuing negligence, placing the burden

of loss on manufacturers rather than injured parties who are powerless

to protect themselves. IFOAM applauds the inclusion of a GMO liability

regime in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, an idea that originated

from African nations and other Third World nations, and is opposed by

the USA and Canada.

 

IFOAM's Position on Genetic Engineering:

www.ifoam.org/press/positions/ge-position.html

 

To purchase a copy of The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and

Emerging Trends 2005, go to the IFOAM website www.ifoam.org.

Additional information can be requested from the IFOAM Head Office

(Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany, phone +49-228-92650-10).

 

IFOAM Press Release, responsible Gerald A. Herrmann, Executive IFOAM Head Office:

Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Tel: ++49-228-926 50 10 - Fax: ++49-228-926 50 99

www.ifoam.org, E-Mail: headoffice

 

 

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IFOAM's mission is leading, uniting and assisting the organic

movement in its full diversity. Our goal is the world wide adoption of

ecologically, socially and economically sound systems that are based

on the principles of Organic Agriculture.

 

________Uniting the Organic World_________

 

Neil Sorensen IFOAM Head Office

Publications & Communications Manager Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5

Tel.: +49-228-92650-16 53113 Bonn

Fax: +49-228-92650-99 Germany

Email: n.sorensen Web: www.ifoam.org

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