Ecobreves – MEXICO: Activists Want to Make an Example of Monsanto

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MEXICO CITY, Apr 22 2006 (IPS) - The environmental watchdog Greenpeace wants the Mexican government to apply sanctions against Monsanto, to make an example of the agribusiness transnational for planting genetically modified cotton without authorization. Local authorities reported on Apr. 12 that they detected unauthorized planting in the northern state of Sonora, at a site not included in the licenses Monsanto received this year to cultivate transgenic cotton for non-commercial purposes in Mexico. In 2005, Monsanto planted 7,000 hectares of cotton for experimental purposes.

“We hope the government takes harsh action against Monsanto, including the destruction of unauthorized cotton. These illegal actions must not be repeated,” Gustavo Ampugnani, coordinator of Greenpeace's transgenics campaign in Mexico, told Tierramérica.

A Mexican biosafety law in effect since May 2005 states that planting transgenic seeds without authorization is a punishable offense. However, the provisions of the law have not yet been established, so the penalties have not been defined.