|
Biotech protesters camped out at Syngenta research farm in Brazil
By ALAN CLENDENNING
AP Business Writer
The Associated Press
At least 300 farm laborers protesting biotech crops were camped out Wednesday at a research farm owned by Swiss agricultural chemicals and seeds company Syngenta AG. Syngenta was talking with authorities about how to have them removed.
The members of the international La Via Campesina group broke down the gate of the installation Tuesday and set up tents to publicize their claim that the company's Brazilian division is illegally experimenting with research into genetically modified soy and corn.
"La Via Campesina denounces the criminal conduct of the Syngenta corporation and the threat of damages to the area of environmental preservation," the group said in a statement.
Syngenta's Brazilian division denied breaking any laws and said it is "in dialogue with authorities and will take appropriate legal action."
The incident marked the second time in a week the group has targeted agribusiness in Brazil. Last week, about 2,000 Via Campesina members invaded a southern Brazil plantation owned by paper and pulp company Aracruz Celulose SA, destroying a million saplings and trashing a laboratory in an environmental rampage against mass eucalyptus tree cultivation.
Organizers said about 1,000 farm workers took part in the occupation of Syngenta Brasil's 124-hectare (310-acre) facility in Santa Teresa do Oeste, about 750 kilometers (470 miles) southwest of Sao Paulo. But police put the number of protesters 300, Syngenta Brasil said.
Via Campesina didn't say how long the farm workers would stay at the research farm in the southern state of Parana near the border with Paraguay. Last week, protesters left the Aracruz installation after an hour.
The occupation of the Syngenta farm took place as delegates from dozens of countries are attending a U.N. sponsored international biosafety conference in Curitiba, the capital of Parana state.
Delegates are discussing the Protocol of Cartagena, a 2003 agreement signed by 132 nations dealing with the transport, handling and use of genetically modified living organisms (GMOs). The protocol also establishes rules for international commerce involving these products.
Brazilian government officials harshly criticized last week's vandalism at the Aracruz installation. But Via Campesina claims the real culprits are multinational firms profiting from agribusiness in Brazil that pushes small farmers off their land and damages the environment.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
INDUSTRIES
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO West, September 1-3, 2009. Los Angeles, CA.
