Grain producers, handlers and exporters have received a two-year reprieve from potential liability rules associated with GMO contamination.
Governments gathering at the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety couldn’t agree on a deal that would make the grain industry pay for damages caused by the presence of unwanted genetically modified crops.
The protocol, which came into force Sept. 11, 2003, is an international agreement ratified by 147 governments and the European Union to protect biological diversity from risks associated with GM crops.
A critical part of the agreement is to write rules governing the liability associated with the unwanted presence of those crops. That decision was supposed to be made at the latest meeting but it has been postponed until the parties meet in Japan in 2010.
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“We were pleased with this (deferral) because we would rather have no decision than a bad decision,” said Dennis Stephens, a consultant with the Canada Grains Council.
He said there were two warring factions on this issue at the meeting that concluded May 16 in Bonn, Germany.
On one side was a group of about 80 developing countries led by Malaysia that insisted on establishing legally binding rules governing GMO contamination.
On the other side were several developed countries led by Japan that were concerned that such legally binding rules could be in conflict with their domestic laws.
Canada and other key grain exporting nations haven’t ratified the agreement and could not participate in the discussions.
In the end, both factions got the text they wanted included in the document, but it was placed within brackets, indicating there is no agreement and can’t be implemented.
That irked Greenpeace International, which accused Japan and Brazil of being particularly obstructive on the liability issue.
“It is good news that all countries signed on to legally binding rules in principle, but the destructive attitude of Japan and Brazil gives real concern for future negotiations,” said Doreen Stabinsky, Greenpeace’s genetic modification expert.
Stephens said the parties agreed to hold one or two meetings before the October 2010 meeting in Japan to negotiate details of a legally binding instrument for liability and redress.
Over the next two years, Canada’s grain industry will try to convince governments that if producers, handlers and exporters follow the laws of their countries and employ good management practices they shouldn’t be held liable for unintentional GM contamination.
“We have considerable work ahead of us,” he said.
