1.Growing Number of Domestic Companies Go GMO-Free
2.Peruvian Government suspends production of GMOs
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1.Growing Number of Domestic Companies Go GMO-Free
Arirang News, July 28 2008
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807280005.html

Food safety comes first. This is what a growing number of domestic companies and consumer groups are saying through a campaign against foods that come from genetically-modified organisms.

The safety of so-called GMO foods has long been debated. At the center of the issue are the ultimate, unknown effects on the health of both people and the environment of altering the genetic makeup of plants and animals.

Amid the controversy a leading Korean food company has decided not to use GMO beans in its tofu bean sprouts and soybean oil. Other local food, beverage and pharmaceutical companies are also saying no to GMO.

Anti-GMO groups could not be happier. They promise to promote companies that participate in the recent movement while boycotting firms that don't. The campaign has received 70,000 signatures supporting the ban on GMO foods.

However some food companies say it will not be easy to stay free of GMO grains. That is mainly because those products have dominated the market in recent years and are cheaper as opposed to organic grains. And that is becoming increasingly important in light of rising food prices around the world.

On the other hand, some of these companies are fearful they might become a target of a food safety issue given the recent heated debate over beef imports from the United States.
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2. Peruvian Government suspends production of GMOs
Government of Parana (second-largest soy producing state= in Brazil), 29/07/2008

The government of Peru suspended the production of transgenic crops in the country. The Peruvian Minister of the Environment, Antonio Brack, introduced legislation regulating the generation of genetically modified organisms, quoting risks to health and to biodiversity.

Minister Brack announced that rural producers and organizations of civil society have the right to enforce their manifestations in regards to risks of GMOs. "The country must take a position of utmost caution over genetically modified organisms," he said.

The Peruvian Minister of the Environment is also assessing the position of the 35,000 Peruvian organic producers who criticize GMO production and caution that their crops would be threatened by GM contamination.