According to a report from the website Sustainable Pulse, the Russian government plans to meet with government agencies soon to consider a total ban on products that contain the highly controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which have been the target of worldwide protests.
The information comes from the Russian government’s website according to Sustainable Pulse, which published the full government announcement document. Requests to receive the document were not returned, but you can view the PDF on the Sustainable Pulse site by clicking above.
Medvedev (left) has reportedly called for the meeting to discuss a GMO ban. To his right is President Vladimir Putin. Photo via Wikipedia Commons.
The move was reportedly ordered by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and is addressed to the following agencies: the Health Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, and the Trade and Economic Development Ministry.
Amendments to the Russian legislation will be discussed for the purposes of tightening control over GMO imports.
The nation has long been ahead of the curve on small scale, natural and organic farming, which is consistent with recent UN recommendations for reforming agricultural to make it more sustainable, equitable and productive.
According to this article, Russia signed the Private Garden Plot Act into law in 2003, which entitles every citizen to a private plot of land that can be used for growing food, vacationing or relaxing.
Russia has had a long history of GMO restrictions and healthy debates in stark contrast with the U.S., which has former Monsanto (GMO company) executives or legal representatives working at many levels of the government and is seen as heavily in favor of GMOs despite massive public opposition.
As noted in the Sustainable Pulse article, Russia started an independent project for identifying possible GMOs being grown illegally by farmers, an important step in light of recent news of cross-contamination incidents in the U.S. Right now, 19 different GMO types are allowed in foods according to Russia law but GMOs are not allowed to be grown in the country.
Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.
About Nick Meyer
