The Brazilian government gave its stamp of approval to the selling of genetically modified corn (GMC). The country’s National Biosafety Council would permit the usage of two forms of GMC produced by Monsanto and Bayer called MON810 and LibertyLink, respectively.The decision was met with resistance from environmental groups which claimed that the accepted GMCs are unsafe:
A Brazilian rural group, Via Campesina, reacted with fury to the announcement, saying it went against the advice of two governmental agencies: the health ministry's ANVISA health vigilance unit, and the environmental ministry's Ibama institute.
Via Campesina said in a statement that the companies behind the engineered corn had presented studies that were "completely inadequate and insufficient to guarantee the safety of these products in terms of human health."
It said it also feared the man-made seeds would contaminate natural crops, with unpredictable results for the environment.
Via Campesina may have a point; last week French officials banned MON810 after a watchdog group said it had “serious doubts” over the GMC's safety.
Image- SciDev.net
Sources- Bloomberg, AFP, Reuters, CNNMoney.com
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