{"id":7888,"date":"2021-01-14T19:23:16","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T19:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=150183"},"modified":"2021-01-14T19:23:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T19:23:16","slug":"environmental-and-farmers-organizations-in-italy-stop-government-attempt-to-give-green-light-to-gmos-and-nbts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/14\/environmental-and-farmers-organizations-in-italy-stop-government-attempt-to-give-green-light-to-gmos-and-nbts\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental and Farmers Organizations in Italy Stop Government Attempt to Give Green Light to GMOs and NBTs"},"content":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON – Twenty six environmental organizations in Italy collectively launched a powerful campaign<\/a> this week, which prevented the government from passing 4 bills inspired by the agribusiness lobby. The bills were proposed by the Minister of Agriculture, and were set to permit GMOs and other New Breeding Techniques (NBT) to enter the country. After an intense media storm and direct public pressure placed on every single parliamentarian of the Agriculture Commission of the Chamber, the pro GMO\/NBT decrees of the Ministry of Agriculture were not passed in their original form. Instead, the bills were strongly conditioned and therefore voided of all parts concerning GMOs and NBTs, as well as of the restrictions to free exchange of seeds. The attempt behind the decrees was aimed at forcing an illegitimate opening to \u201cold\u201d and \u201cnew\u201d GMOs (new beingNBTs) and to deny the possibility for farmers to carry out activities such as reusing seeds, and the exchange of part of the harvest as seeds or propagation material.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to the openness of the rapporteurs in charge of the dialogue with organic farmers\u2019 organizations, environmental and consumer associations, and the support of the members of the Chamber\u2019s Agriculture Committee, this attempt has been foiled for the moment.\u201d This is the comment of the associations that started the mobilization after the Senate \u2013 instead \u2013 passed the bills during the Christmas holidays, right in the middle of the pandemic\u2019s upswing. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media did not report the news. Right after the Chamber\u2019s vote, the Agriculture Minister, Teresa Bellanova resigned, starting a political crisis in Italy. Nevertheless, the same minister, in the days before the vote, had made a last attempt to save her bills, advocating that NBTs are not GMOs. A position that was already discharged by the Court of Justice of the European Union<\/a> on July 25, 2018.<\/p>\n