Genetically Modified Organisms

Brazilian Catholic Bishops have declared seeds the "common inheritance of humanity". Read here what they have to say about GMO's

Bishops of the Pastoral Land Commission (of Brazil) express their
opposition to the use of GMOs
Concerned about the latest developments in relation to GMOs, the Bishops
of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB in Portuguese),
accompanied by the Pastoral Land Commission, wrote a letter on 6 May
describing the damage to health caused by such products.  They call
attention also to the loss of food sovereignty implied by the use of GMO
seeds.  The document was delivered to the President of the House, Joao
Paulo Cunha, in the ceremony commemorating the tabling of the proposal
to establish a military base in Alcantara.
The text of this document follows:
DECLARATION ON GMOs.
We, the Bishops accompanying the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) from the
diverse regions of the National Conference of Bishops (of Brazil),
confronted by the grave problem of GMOs in our country and supported by
current legal dispositions, take the initiative to make a declaration on
this issue.
GMOs are the result of genetic manipulation, which permits the
production, alteration and transference of genes between living beings,
breaking the natural barrier between non-species crosses, creating,
altering and transferring genetic material between vegetables, animals,
bacteria, viruses and human beings.
All over the world and here in Brazil many investigators and also social
leaders have formulated, in an opportune way, serious concerns in
relation to this issue.  These worries revolve around the following
risks:
1st.- In relation to human health, the ingestion of genetically modified
grains and beans can provoke an increase in allergies, antibiotic
resistance and an increase in the indices of toxic substances in foods.
2nd.- In the environment there is the risk of genetic erosion,
irreversibly affecting biodiversity, by means of contamination of the
natural stores of seeds (germ plasma banks).  Added to this is the
alarming increase in the use of monocultures and the consequent loss of
the rich variety and quality of our seeds.
3rd.- GMOs also threaten the food sovereignty of our country, by means
of the loss of control of the seeds and living organisms by the
patenting of these, thereby converted into the exclusive and legal
property of transnational groups with only commercial interests.
4th. - The greatest risk, nevertheless, as we understand it, is the
total dependency resulting from the destruction and finally
disappearance of the small and even medium scale production and
commercialization of seeds, which are subsumed under the domain of a
small group of giant and powerful transnational corporations.
In relation to these questions, on the other hand, we cannot ignore or
leave aside the ethical requirements such as beneficence, social
justice, ecological justice and the precautionary principle.
In principle, beneficence implies our duty to avoid or resist evil or
harm done to others.  In the case of the massive introduction of new
technologies that imply potential risks to health, this principle needs
to be fully guaranteed by means of clear and trustworthy information.
The principle of social justice, in cases of massive technological
innovations of a high social impact, leads us to question who will
benefit and who will be harmed.  Now, in the concrete case of the GMOs
it is clear that a small group of large corporations will be the
greatest beneficiary, with grave damage for the family farmer.
The principle of ecological justice imposes the duty to preserve the
environment for present and future generations.  GMOs represent a
serious ecological risk.
The precautionary principle requires that before liberating any product
for human consumption, that strict norms of biosecurity be adopted.
This is not an issue of impeding science or scientific inquiry, nor of
provoking paranoid fears in the face of something new.  On the contrary,
science and inquiry need to have their space defended and oriented for
the common good.  Technological applications that imply potential risks
on a large scale, need be decided upon, approved, denied or perfected on
the basis of democratic decisions and under public control.
Supporting the heroic struggle of popular organizations from the
countryside and in echo with the great issues discussed in the World
Social Forum in Porto Alegre, with thankfulness we defend the
understanding that seeds be declared the common inheritance of humanity
and preserved in their genetic integrity by farming communities.
Along this same line, we freely recommend to Public Powers, the Minister
of the Public Affairs, the Legislature, the Judicial branch and the
Executive Brand that, as they make decisions on these grave questions,
they be oriented by these new vindications, as well as by the ethical
principles that underlie them.
Itaici, May 6, 2003
Bishops Accompanying the Pastoral Land Commissions
Mons. Tomás Balduino, Presidente
Mons. Xavier Gilles, Vice-Presidente
Mons. Orlando Dotti
Mons. Ladislau Biernaski
Mons. Pedro Casaldáliga
Mons. André de Witte
Mons. José Alberto Moura,
Mons. Guilherme Werlang
Mons. Heriberto Hermes
Mons. José Mario Streher
Mons. Moacir Grecchi
Mons. José Agusto da Rocha
Mons. Maurício Grotto
Mons. Apparecido José Dias