The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – Opposition lawmakers and environmental groups today filed a bill to Costa Rican Congress to establish a moratorium on the cultivation of GMO produce due to its alleged harmful effects on human health and the environment.
The project proposes to ban the release of genetically modified seed crops across Costa Rican territory indefinitely until there is a scientific consensus on the various risks involved with GMO crops.
The proposal was tabled by Claudio Monge, Juan Carlos Mendoza, and Jorge Gamboa, of the opposition Citizens Action Party (PAC), along with the presidential candidate, Jose Maria Villalta, and biologist Fabian Pacheco.
Meanwhile the company director of CropLife Latin America, Martin Zuniga, dedicated to the promotion of biotechnology, spoke against the moratorium.
“A moratorium is needed when there is a doubt regarding any new technology, however agricultural biotechnology is a science and researched and proven in the world, so a moratorium is unnecessary,” Zuniga said.
He also assured that the moratorium “would be a wrong decision for the country” and that it is a step backwards in the area of academic investment and development of biotechnology in Costa Rica.
Data from the National Biosafety Commission indicate that as of 2011, which is the latest official data available, Costa Rica accounted for 394.3 hectares of transgenic cotton, 44.6 hectares of soybeans, and 3.2 hectares of GMO pineapple and bananas, all for research or export of seed and not for human consumption. (EFE)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica
For those who have experienced shifts in consciousness and know that more peace, joy, and love awaits in a better living environment. A bold shared vision. A living community and hub for innovation. A sustainable ecosystem for living and working. A model for the new future.