Home > In Focus > Peru extends GMO moratorium, Mexico phases out glyphosate and GM maize in food, disallows GM maize releases

Third World Network Biosafety Information Service, 11 January 2021 | Source

On 5 January 2021, the Peruvian Congress approved Law 31111, extending by 15 years its moratorium on the import and production of GMOs that are intended for release into the environment. The new law amends the previous Law 29811, which established the moratorium in 2011, and extends it to 31 December 2035.

Law No. 3111, in Spanish, is available here: https://lpderecho.pe/ley-31111-promulgan-impide-ingreso-transgenicos-peru/

In other news, a Presidential Decree in Mexico went into effect on 1 January 2021 to phase out the “use, acquisition, distribution, promotion, and import” of glyphosate (see below and https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5609365&fecha=31/12/2020).  The Decree establishes a transition period until January 2024 to replace glyphosate with sustainable, culturally appropriate alternatives to “safeguard human health, the country’s bio-cultural diversity, and the environment”.

The Decree also obliges the biosafety authorities, to “revoke and refrain” from granting permits for the release into the environment of GM maize seeds, to protect food security and food sovereignty, native corn, traditional cornfields (“milpas”) and the country’s biocultural wealth. Likewise, the biosafety authorities are to “revoke and refrain” from granting authorisations for the use of GM maize in food, with the phase out to be completed no later than 31 January 2024.

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