The struggle against GE rice in Japan
February 2001
By Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific
Over 500 farmers and consumers marched on the streets of Tokyo on November 21 protesting the imminent planting of Roundup Ready (RR) rice for commercial sale in Japan.
The National Rally against genetically engineered (GE) rice, principally organised by the Network for Safe and Secure Food and the Environment (NESSFE), was part of week long activities in Japan, linked to the People’s Caravan 2000 – "Citizens on the Move for Land and Food Without Poisons!"
The "National Rally Against Genetically Engineered Rice" was part of the "No to Genetic Engineering Food Campaign" launched on September 20, 2000 by NESSFE.
NESSFE Coordinator Mika Iba said the agrochemical TNC, Monsanto, had invested a lot of time and money in co-opting farmers into planting GE rice in Japan.
She said Japan is often looked at as a model for economic growth and development by other Asian nations. At the same time the consumer movement in Japan has become strong.
She is concerned that if Monsanto is allowed to get a stronghold in the Japanese rice market, through farmer and consumer acceptance, a precedence could be set for the wide-scale planting of GE rice in the region. Another concern is over the possible increase in pesticide use. "We have to stop them!" Iba said.
Japanese representatives share the message of the NESSFE "No to Genetic Engineering Food Campaign" in the Philippines. Photo by: S. Hindmarsh, PAN AP.
The issues at stake
The Monsanto product, glyphosate, is the active ingredient in roundup herbicide used to control weeds. Monsanto claims herbicide use on its RR soyabeans, most prominently grown in the U.S., "is between 10 per cent and 40 per cent less than the amount presently used in conventional varieties."
However, according to research undertaken by the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show expanded plantings of RR soybeans in the U.S. in 1997 resulted in increased glyphosate use by some 72 per cent to 14.9 million pounds or 6759 tonnes. Furthermore, according to a survey from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, the increased usage of several other high-volume herbicides contributed to a 29 per cent increase in overall herbicide usage on soybeans1.
The effect on human health and the environment from increased pesticide use, ultimately resulting in crop resistance to glyphosate, in turn producing harder to eradicate weeds, thereby encouraging the use of more pesticides, has never been adequately addressed by Monsanto or the biotech industry in general.
In fact, since the introduction of glyphosate-resistant crops in 1996, researchers have said that the onset of weed resistance to glyphosate was not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’," according to Reid Smeda, professor of agronomy at the University of Missouri.
In research undertaken by weed scientists with the University in 2000 it was found that applications of glyphosate had to be increased to control weeds such as waterhemp. Even more disturbing was that some waterhemp survived application rates as high as two gallons per acre and were still setting viable seed. In addition, single applications of glyphosate on RR soyabeans were found not to give optimum waterhemp control.2
Taking action
In December, a letter highlighting the potential health concerns with GE rice, signed by 122 000 people, was sent to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The concerns held by NESSFE reflect the groundswell of voices across Asia—from non government organisations (NGOs) like UBING (Policy Research Centre for Development Alternatives, Bangladesh) calling for the farmers of Asia to take a united position against GE rice, to small farmers, landless peasants, farm workers and anti-pesticide and GE advocates strongly opposed to the introduction of GE rice and the increasing corporate control of rice research and seed systems throughout the region.
1
AGROW Crop Protection News. No. 307. June 26, 1998. p.14.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NESSFE
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