Contraband GM corn causes alarm in Brazil

Reports of illegal imports of genetically modified corn in southern Brazil, crossing the Argentine border, have caused alarm among officials and experts, who warn that the crop's environmental effects could be worse than those of smuggled soybeans nine years ago. Rio Grande do Sul legislative deputy Frei Sergio Gorgen denounced Agropecuaria Campesato before the judicial authorities for selling genetically modified (GM) corn seed, after verifying an anonymous tip received last month. According to Gorgen, the transgenic corn variety marketed by this small company reportedly came from Argentina and belongs to the agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto. The US-based corporation has been at the center of Brazil's GM controversies since 1996, when its RoundUp Ready (RR) soybeans were illegally disseminated in southern Brazil and throughout Rio Grande do Sul. The prevalence of transgenic soybeans reached more than 80 percent of the area cultivated with soy, according to farmers' estimates, and expanded to other Brazilian states as well. But corn is different, because it can affect the environment and farming more extensively than soybeans, said Claudio Langone, deputy minister of environment. Because it is a "direct pollination" crop, the gene added to the modified variety can spread to and contaminate conventional corn, he said. Brasil de Fato, a weekly publication linked to the landless workers' movement–Movimento dos Sem Terra (MST)–states that some of the smuggled corn contained the gene GA21, used in Monsanto's RRGA21 variety, resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. However, the transnational corporation said it was not aware of the corn's origins and denounced the sale and cultivation of any illegal seed, "whether conventional or transgenic." "It is irresponsible" to introduce corn into the country that way, given that the transgenics regulation law is still in force, and the expansion of the GM crop could have "tragic" consequences, said Langone, pointing to potentially irreversible environmental impacts and damage to the credibility of Brazilian agriculture, thus threatening its exports to certain markets. In March–against the protests of environmentalists–the Brazilian Congress passed the Biosecurity Act, which opened the doors to controlled research, development and production of genetically modified organisms. "Corn is for domestic consumption, but it is a key input in the production of pork and poultry, which are important to Brazil's exports," explained Langone. "Furthermore, this illegality violates the rights of the consumer, who would eat transgenics without being informed," he added. Transgenic organisms are modified in the laboratory by introducing genes from other plant or animal species in order to improve certain characteristics, such as the crop's yield, or resistance to pests, pesticides or climate factors. The biotechnology research that Monsanto conducts in Brazil is authorized by CTNBio, the national biosecurity commission, the corporation said in a public statement. The research includes the corn varieties YieldGard and RR, which are resistant to insects and to glyphosate herbicide, respectively, and not yet authorized for commercial production. According to Gorgen, who filed the complaint in Rio Grande do Sul, it is now up to the police and the judicial and agricultural authorities to find the smuggler and put an end to the contraband, and to determine the responsibility of Monsanto, which owns the GM seed patent. "Whoever owns it for profit also owns the responsibility of controlling it," Gorgen said. In his opinion, this case will not have the same fate as that of the smuggled soybean seed in the 1990s. Temporary laws accommodated this as "fait accompli" and, with certain conditions, let the farming of GM soy continue. "The farmers have already realized what a disappointment the transgenic soy was–an economic failure," because it requires more agro-chemicals, driving up production costs after the first few years, said Gorgen. Furthermore, public opinion has "a different perception." The federation of big farmers said they would not put up with another case of illegal seed, and the meat industry fears losing export markets if its hogs and chicken are fed with GM corn, he said. For Narciso Barison, head of the Rio Grande do Sul association of seed producers and sellers, APASSUL, the transgenic corn is following the same path as soybeans did, "but won't have the same future." Hybrid corn seed, the most widely planted, is difficult to reproduce; it doesn't multiply like soy, says Barison. The farmers will face a "dramatic fall in productivity" if they use illegal seed without the quality assured by certified seed producers, he predicted. His own farms suffered losses as a result of the illegal GM soy. But until such losses reach 50 percent of productivity, the "traffickers" will continue to fool the farmers, he lamented. The hucksters will likely go unpunished because "the farmers who suffer losses from illegal seed don't want to admit it."