venezuela bans gmo crops

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VIVA VENEZUELA--GM BANNED IN VENEZUELA--MONSANTO TERMINATED!

Venezuala's President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced that the

cultivation of GM crops will be prohibited on Venezuelan soil,

possibly establishing the most sweeping restrictions on transgenic

crops in the Western Hemisphere. Though full details of the

administration's policy on GMOs are still forthcoming, the statement

by President Chavez will lead most immediately to the cancellation

of a contract that Venezuela had negotiated with the US-based

Monsanto Corporation.

 

Before a recent international gathering of supporters in Caracas,

President Chavez admonished GM crops as contrary to the interests

and needs of the nation's farmers and farm workers. He zeroed in on

Monsanto's plans to plant up to 500,000 acres of transgenic soybeans

in Venezuela. " I ordered an end to the project, " said President

Chavez, upon learning that transgenic crops were involved. " This

project is terminated. "

 

President Chavez emphasized the importance of food sovereignty and

security - required by the Venezuelan Constitution - as the basis of

his decision. Instead of allowing Monsanto to grow its transgenic

crops, these fields will be used to plant yuca (an indigenous crop),

Chavez explained. He also announced the creation of a large seed

bank facility to maintain indigenous seeds for peasants' movements

around the world.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,11319,714504,00.html

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=3307