Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
exporter of GM soybeans, has GM crops growing on 9.4 million hectares,
and now produces an estimated 10 percent of global GM crops, at last
count.
3
This chapter reviews the history of Brazilian policies and presents an
analysis of the factors that have shaped their evolution. It illuminates
how scientific advances and economic opportunities in global crop and
food markets have overcome health and environmental concerns and the
safeguards espoused by the Cartagena Protocol.
4
In 1995, when the first Biosafety Statute was approved by Brazil's
National Congress, controversies about GM agriculture had captured
the attention of political institutions. Foremost among these con-
troversies was whether an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
5
should be developed before each cultivation of a GM crop pursuant
to national environmental policy. Arguing for the application of EIS
requirements, environmental and consumer NGOs opposed in federal
courts the production and commercialization of transgenic soybean
3
The figures are in the latest annual report of the International Service for the Acquisi-
tion of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), released on January 11, 2006. See Interna-
tional Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, “ISAAA Report: Developing
Country Biotech Plantings Continue to Expand,” Trade BioRes Main Page, vol. 6, n.1
(Jan. 2006), at http://www.ictsd.org/biores/06-01-20/story3.htm.
4
Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration proclaimed: “In order to protect the environment,
the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capa-
bilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scien-
tific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures
to prevent environmental degradation.” The Cartagena Protocol (signed in 2000 and
enforced on September 11, 2003) states: “Aware of the rapid expansion of modern
biotechnology and the growing public concern over its potential adverse effects on
biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, recognizing that
modern biotechnology has great potential for human well-being if developed and used
with adequate safety measures for the environment and human health.”
5
EIS analyzes the impact a proposed development, usually industrial, will have on
the natural and social environment. It includes assessment of long- and short-term
effects on the physical environment, such as air, water, and noise pollution, as well as
effects on employment, living standards, local services, and aesthetics. See Peter Wath-
ern, ed.,
Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Practice
(London: Routledge,
1992).
