Monsanto just needs to work out how to collect some technology fees now!
------

Brazil OKs genetically modified crops
ALAN CLENDENNING
Associated Press
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/11035178.htm

SAO PAULO, Brazil - In a victory for U.S.-based biotechnology firm Monsanto Co., Brazil's lower house of Congress overwhelmingly approved a law Wednesday creating a framework to legalize biotech seed sales in Latin America's largest country.

The move hotly protested by environmentalists clears the way for rules to be set that would allow Monsanto to sell genetically modified soy seeds in Brazil, where soy production has boomed over the last decade.

The modified seeds were banned in Brazil, but their use has been widespread for years by Brazilian farmers who use cloned or smuggled versions of the company's popular Roundup Ready seeds to cut production costs.

Monsanto has complained for years that it was being robbed of profits from the widespread illicit use of a seed it developed.

The bill passed by a vote of 352-60. It has already been approved by Brazil's Senate and is expected to be signed into law by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Brazil is second only to the United States in soy production, but easily has the potential to become the world's largest soy producer because of cheap land, low labor costs and plentiful water.

International demand for soy has skyrocketed in recent years, driven by ever-increasing purchases by China for soy used in products ranging from animal feed to cooking oil.

Monsanto's soy seed is engineered to withstand the spraying of herbicides, which saves farmers money by cutting down on the number of workers and weed killers needed. Brazil's ban on such crops did little to stop farmers, because it was rarely enforced.

The St. Louis-based company disputed claims that GM crops harm the environment, saying many Brazilian farmers have boosted their profits while significantly reducing the amount of herbicides used to kill weeds.

Experts estimate about 30 percent of Brazil's soy is grown with genetically engineered seeds, but the figure is near 90 percent in Brazil's southernmost state, where the seeds were first introduced in the 1990s after being smuggled in from neighboring countries with no bans on them.

Go to a Print friendly Page

Email this Article to a Friend

Back to the Archive