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THIRD WORLD NETWORK INFORMATION SERVICE ON BIOSAFETY 26 June 2001 Dear friends and colleagues, Thank you for the enthusiastic response we have received from many of you regarding the list we sent out on May 16, 2001 on worldwide initiatives against GMOs. Some things we were previously unaware of have been brought to our attention. Based on your responses, we would like to update our list and clarify a few points. We were informed of important initiatives being taken in Bolivia and Yugoslavia, which we have added here. We have also clarified the situations of China, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, as there was some concern over the accuracy of the information we had included in the previous list. Also note that information on the European Union, Brazil, Paraguay, and Thailand has been updated. Finally, Sri Lanka has deferred the implementation of a ban on the import of all GE foods until September 2001. We were alerted to labeling laws and regulations in various countries, but have not included these here as we have decided to focus this list more on policy initiatives such as bans, moratoriums and ministerial orders. 28 countries to date have labeling requirements, and many other countries are in the process of developing them. Most of the information for this list was obtained from GENET’s GE-free Newsletter and various other sources including newspaper articles, as well as personal communication. We hope you find this compilation useful. With best wishes, Lim
Li Lin and Pauline Fan 228
Macalister Road Email:
twnet@po.jaring.my Doc. TWN/Biosafety/2001/F UPDATED AND CLARIFIED WORLDWIDE INTITIATIVES AGAINST GMOs AFRICA Algeria: Ban on the import, distribution, commercialization and utilization of GE plant material, except for research purposes. Egypt: Declared not to import GE wheat. The draft Organization of African Unity (OAU) model biosafety law requires that all GMOs, whether classified as food, crops, pharmaceuticals, or commodities, and products thereof must be approved before import, transit, contained use, release, and market release can take place. Any GMOs or products thereof must be labeled as such and there is a strict liability regime in place. This model law will serve as a model for national implementation in African countries.
Sri Lanka: A ban on the import of all genetically modified foods, raw and processed, including food additives, has been deferred until September 2001. China: An article from the South China Morning Post, April 18, 2001, mentioned a government ban on the commercial planting of GE rice, wheat, corn, and soybean. However, there seems to be no official policy yet, although these crops have not been approved for commercial cultivation. We learned through personal communication that the government is, in fact, not approving new GMO applications. On June 7, 2001, the government announced new regulations on the production and use of GMOs in agriculture. Chinese-foreign joint ventures and foreign owned companies must have government approval to research or test GE products. All GMO products, including food products, seeds, and animal feed must be labeled. The government has the right to reject or destroy imports of GE products that do not carry proper documentation. Thailand: There has been a ban on the import of GE seeds for commercial planting since 1999. In April 2001, there was a cabinet decision to stop all field trials of GE crops, and to terminate ongoing field trials of Monsanto’s GE cotton and corn. However, there appears to be some opposition to this decision from the Ministry of Agriculture. Labeling of food products containing GMOs will be made compulsory by December, 2001. Japan: Declared not to import GE wheat. Recent legislation has set zero tolerance for imports containing unapproved GE products. Imports found to contain unapproved GMOs will be destroyed or shipped back to origin. Violators may incur penalties of up to one-year imprisonment and may be fined. The legislation also seeks mandatory labeling for GMOs in food. Philippines: The Philippine president recently announced at a press conference that the government did not support GE trials, but it appears that this has yet to be implemented administratively as a policy. The community of Valencia called for a five-year moratorium on GE food and GE crop trials and commercialization.
European Union: The European Union’s de-facto moratorium on all new GMO approvals is still in place. The EU is expected to approve strict legislation on labeling and traceability; products thereof will have to be labeled even if traces of GE material cannot be found in them. Regulations on GE animal feed and products from animals fed with GMOs are also being developed. Yugoslavia: The Ministry of Agriculture has placed an order prohibiting the free import of GMOs and products thereof without the official permission of the Ministry. This is a temporary measure put in place until a national GMO law enters into force. Norway: Ban on the import of six GE crops and products that contain antibiotic resistance genes - two GE vaccines, GE maize, tobacco, chicory, and oil swede rape. 31 GE applications have been rejected to date. Austria: Bans on three varieties of GE maize - Novartis, Monsanto and AgrEvo. The Federal Institute for Less-favored and Mountainous Areas is pressing for GE-free legislation and published a study on GE free zones, initiatives in the States of Vorarlberg and Salzburg to ban GE trials. Germany: Ban of Novartis Bt maize. The initiative “No GE on communal land” of BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) launched activities in several German communities to discuss and vote on the GE free resolutions. Applications have been launched in: Bad Vilbel, Blauenstein, Lahr, Konstanz, Hannover, Hamburg. Applications have been accepted in: Mynchen, Reutlingen, Freidrichsdorf, Blomberg, Selingenstadt, Niddatal, Maintal, Riedstadt, Adendorf, Schwebheim, Pinneberg, Schwabach, Lan-genhagen, Wyhe, Burgdorf, Neetze, District Traunstein. Several Protestant regional church organizations have banned GE crops from their land: Hannover, Hessen und Nassau, Sachsen, Protestantic Church of Westfalen, Protestantic Church in Berlin-Bradenburg, Church Province of Sachsen. United Kingdom: The Church of England has refused permission for GE crop trials on 60,000 hectares of its land, dozens of local authorities supply GE free school lunches, while the House of Commons has banned GE food for its catering. The Island of Jersey has banned GE crops. Spain: The Basque government has imposed a five-year blanket moratorium for GMOs. The provinces of Castilla-La Mancha and Baleares have banned GE food, while Andaluc’a declared a five-year moratorium on GE crops trials and food. Italy: Bans on GE crops in four regions - Tuscany, Molise, Lazio and Marche - and 25 provinces, cities and communes, including Rome, Milan, Turin, Brescia, and Genoa. Greece: Ban on AgrEvo herbicide resistant rapeseed, moratorium on GE crop trials. France: Ban on PGS and AgrEvo herbicide resistant rapeseed. Luxembourg: Ban on Novartis Bt maize. Portugal: Ban on Novartis Bt maize.
Bolivia: The Bolivian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and Rural Development passed a Ministerial Resolution No 001, prohibiting the import and use of any GMO in the country for a period of one year, effective January 8, 2001. Brazil: Ban on the planting of GE seeds. The states of Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grasso do Sul have declared their intentions to remain GE-free. 18 states have called upon the central government to block commercial GE crop planting. There is an injunction that prevents Roundup Ready Soybean from entering the country until proper labeling rules are in place. Paraguay: Ban on the commercial planting of GE crops, specifically GE soybean.
Saudi Arabia: There is a ban on GE animal products, but it appears that this ban does not extend to all GMOs. However, imported GE foods must be accompanied by a health certificate. The government has also declared that it will not import GE wheat.
United States of America: Maryland has banned GE fish. There are various bills calling for moratoria on GE food (Vermont), and bans on GE wheat (North Dakota and Montana) have been filed within the last year. Several municipalities have declared moratoria on GE food (Burlington, Vermont), bans of GE crops (City of Boulder, Colorado), or urged the federal government to ban GE food (City and County of San Fransisco, California).
14 South Pacific countries - American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu - have recommended a moratorium on the import of GMOs pending the implementation of appropriate national risk assessment and risk management procedures. Australia: Ban on GE rapeseed as weed in Tasmania, and a ban on commercial planting of GE crops in Western Australia. Australian States have been given the right to declare themselves GE free. Some communities (e.g. Bondi/Sydney, West Wimmera Shire) have declared themselves GE free. New Zealand: Trials of GE salmon have been blocked by the government. Some local bodies in Auckland and Wellington have declared themselves GE free.
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