Bento, Sofia

Brás, Oriana Rainho

Fernandes, Lúcia de Oliveira

Silva, Lays Helena Paes e

English

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Source URL: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/7962Print date: 05 February 2020 12:04:58Mobilization against Genetically Modified Organisms in PortugalSofia Bento, Lúcia de Oliveira Fernandes, Lays Helena Paes e Silva, and Oriana Rainho BrásThe Portuguese section of the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas)  features a selection of environmentalconflicts in Portugal after the democratic revolution of 1974, and anti-GMO mobilization  is one of them. TheEJAtlas is a map of environmental conflicts in the world, set up and managed by the European Commissionproject “Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT).” Subsequently, the exploratoryproject “Portugal: Ambiente em Movimento ” (Portugal: Environment on the Move) took this work further andbuilt a website showcasing 60 conflicts in Portugal , including cases concerning non-sustainable agriculture.According to the World Health Organization , GMOs can be defined as “organisms (i.e., plants, animals, ormicroorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally bymating and/or natural recombination. The technology is often called ‘modern biotechnology’ or ‘genetechnology,’ sometimes also ‘recombinant DNA technology’ or ‘genetic engineering.’” The European Unionlegislated on the issue of genetically modified organisms for the first time in 1990, authorizing the use of 17organisms, although several member-states prohibited them in their territory.In 1997, Greenpeace and Quercus , a Portuguese association for nature conservation, temporarily stopped theunloading of a GMO maize shipment in Portugal. The following year, the European Union enacted a de factomoratorium on the approval of new GMOs. In 1999, in Portugal, 12 organizations formed the platform“Transgénicos Fora do Prato” to inform people about and act on the subject.  The platform’s name translates as“Transgenics out of Our Plate”; later, when producers of GMOs expanded their sectors of influence and enteredthe biofuels field, it changed its name to “Transgénicos Fora” (Transgenics Out). In 1997, the national meetingof environmental organizations called for a precautionary approach on GMOs by the Portuguese government,who, later in the year, suspended authorizations to sell GMO seeds. A survey of the Portuguese population in2000 revealed a general cautious stand towards GMOs, with a fifth of the people who took part in the surveybeing radically unfavorable to GMOs.Bento, Sofia; Oliveira Fernandes, Lúcia de; Paes e Silva, Lays Helena; Rainho Brás, Oriana. "Mobilization against Genetically ModifiedOrganisms in Portugal." Arcadia (Summer 2017), no. 23.Source URL: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/7962Print date: 05 February 2020 12:04:58Photo of the international action against genetically modified rice in the European Union, and specifically in Portugal, on 17 April 2010.The platform Transgénicos Fora prepared several trays of “sweet rice,” a traditional Portuguese dessert, with organic rice, and served it atRossio plaza, Lisbon, while it informed people about genetically modified food and its implications.Photo by the author Oriana Rainho Brás.This work is used by permission of the copyright holder.The situation radically changed in 2003, when the European Union passed comprehensive laws on theauthorization, use, and surveillance of GMOs. That same year, the Portuguese government approved thecultivation of some GMOs in Portugal. In 2005, it regulated the coexistence of genetically modified varieties withconventional crops and organic production, although environmental associations argued this coexistence wasimpossible without contamination.Meanwhile, in 2004, the Association of Algarve Municipalities (AMAL) was the first to declare the intention ofbeing a GMO-free zone. However, only in 2006 did the government allow the legal possibility for farmers ormunicipalities to declare a GMO-free zone. Quercus and the municipal assembly of Aljezur (Algarve) criticizedthe government for demanding nearly impossible requirements and ensuring no guarantees to farmers in theprocess of creating GMO-free zones.In 2007, the production of 50 hectares of GMO corn in Silves, Algarve, was made public and AMAL and theBento, Sofia; Oliveira Fernandes, Lúcia de; Paes e Silva, Lays Helena; Rainho Brás, Oriana. "Mobilization against Genetically ModifiedOrganisms in Portugal." Arcadia (Summer 2017), no. 23.Source URL: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/7962Print date: 05 February 2020 12:04:58Almargem-Association for Defense of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the Algarve positionedthemselves against it. In August 2007, about 150 people organized the movement “Verde Eufémia,” anddestroyed 1 hectare of the corn in protest against GMO crops. The authorities considered it an act of vandalismand a court issued proceedings against some of the participants.External video. Link:https://archive.org/embed/Desobedienciaogm-en_xvid2000c500-3Video by the movement Verde Eufémia about its protest action in a field of GMO corn in Silves, Algarve, August 2007. This video is in the public domain.During the 2010s, the movement against GMOs has been raising related issues, like the dangers of patenting lifeforms and creating monopolies on seeds, the consequent threats to food sovereignty, and also the use ofchemicals closely associated with GM crops. Recently, the use of herbicides in growing GMO crops becamemore visible due to the claim by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that glyphosate is“probably carcinogenic to humans.” In August 2015, the chairperson of the Portuguese Medical Associationwrote about the evidence of glyphosate’s harmful effects on health, appealing to physicians and to theresponsibility of the government and the health directorate to take precautionary action by suspending the use ofthat substance (Silva 2015). Although more than 1,600 tonnes of glyphosate are sold in Portugal daily, theMinistry of Agriculture claimed it is unnecessary to test it in a routine analysis.In 2016, the platform “Transgénicos Fora” collaborated with the Detox Project , assessing the presence ofglyphosate in the urine samples of 26 volunteers and some food samples. The study revealed strikingly high levelsof glyphosate in the urine, both compared to the maximum levels legally allowed and to other studies conductedin Europe. A TV documentary on glyphosate released in 2016 brought great visibility to this study’s results andto the issue of glyphosate in Portugal.By 2016, 28 municipalities and 3 regions (Algarve, Azores, and Madeira archipelagos) had declared themselves tobe GMO-free zones.Opposition to GMOs in Portugal has been very active since the 1990s, bringing together environmentalassociations, farmers’ organizations (practitioners of conventional and organic modes of production), andindividual citizens. The movement has consistently pointed to the complex implications of GMOs forecosystems, human health, social justice, democratic sovereignty, and economies. However, a moreencompassing public debate on GMOs has rarely occurred in Portugal. Even so, the matter continuously re-enters the public debate through different doors: it was so with the glyphosate issue and it is so with thenegotiations of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Transatlantic Trade andInvestment Partnership (TTIP). It remains an open issue. Bento, Sofia; Oliveira Fernandes, Lúcia de; Paes e Silva, Lays Helena; Rainho Brás, Oriana. "Mobilization against Genetically ModifiedOrganisms in Portugal." Arcadia (Summer 2017), no. 23.Source URL: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/7962Print date: 05 February 2020 12:04:58Arcadia Collection: Global Environmental MovementsFurther readings: Ferreira de Almeida, José, Os Portugueses e o Ambiente: II Inquérito Nacional às Representações e Práticas dos Portugueses•sobre o Ambiente. Oeiras: Celta Editora, 2004.Schmidt, Luísa. País (In)sustentável ambiente e qualidade de vida em Portugal. Lisboa: Novos Rumos, 2007.•Schmidt, Luísa, Susana Fonseca, and Mónica Truninger. “Riscos Ambientais e Riscos Alimentares: Percepções e•Atitudes.” In Os Portugueses e o Ambiente: II Inquérito Nacional às Representações e Práticas dos Portugueses sobre oAmbiente, edited by João Ferreira de Almeida, 173–236. Oeiras: Celta Editora, 2004.Sartori, Giovanna. “Organismi Geneticamente Modificati. Europa libera dagli ogm? Breve trattato sulla storia degli OGM•in Europa e nel mondo”. Trento: Provincia Autonoma di Trento Servizio Europa, Ufficio per I Rapporti con l’UnioneEuropea, 2012.Related links: Sartori, Giovanna. “Organismi Geneticamente Modificati. Europa libera dagli ogm?” 2012•(PDF) http://www.provincia.tn.it/binary/pat_puntoeuropa/Giovanna_Sartori_report_finale.pdfHow to cite: Rainho Brás, Oriana, Lúcia de Oliveira Fernandes, Sofia Bento, and Lays Helena Paes e Silva. “MobilizationAgainst Genetically Modified Organisms in Portugal.” Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia (Summer 2017),no. 23. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. doi.org/10.5282/rcc/7962 (link is external). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .2017 Oriana Rainho Brás, Lúcia de Oliveira Fernandes, Sofia Bento, and Lays Helena Paes e SilvaThis refers only to the text and does not include any image rights.Please click on an image to view its individual rights statusISSN 2199-3408Environment & Society Portal, ArcadiaWebsites linked in this text:https://ejatlas.org/featured/portugal•http://ejatlas.org/conflict/anti-gmo-mouvement-portugal•http://www.ambientemovimento.org•http://www.ambientemovimento.org/no-sustentvel•http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/food-technology/faq-genetically-modified-food/en/•http://www.quercus.pt/•https://archive.org/embed/Desobedienciaogm-en_xvid2000c500-3•http://detoxproject.org/•

Mobilization Against Genetically Modified Organisms in Portugal

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Mobilization Against Genetically Modified Organisms in Portugal

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