Burning soy seeds lit up the city streets of Guayaquil, Ecuador, last May as dozens of farmers, activists and indigenous people protested a controversial decision allowing research with genetically altered, or transgenic, plants. Since then, demonstrators have marched in different cities across the country including the capital, Quito. And scientists, both anti- and pro-GMO, are unhappy with the ruling as well.
Now, the Federation of Peasant Organizations of the Littoral (FECAOL), the association organizing the protests, says it’s planning a nation-wide strike, possibly as soon as December 20.
Nearly a decade earlier, in 2008, the government of former president Rafael Correa rewrote Ecuador’s constitution. The new document adopted article 401, which defines the country as a transgenic-free territory, after an intense lobbying by environmental and left-wing groups.
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On May 19, 2017, just five days before his term ended, Correa modified a so-called ‘seed law’ to authorize the experimental use of transgenic seeds and plants.
The decision, approved in June by the National Assembly, inspired a fiery reaction from the populace.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Changes in Ecuador’s ‘seed law’ angers and frustrates scientists
