JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s GMO debate looks a lot like America’s – with more geopolitics” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

“… faced with something new, Russian lawmakers have generally found it easier to ban it than … debate it, even if such prohibitions often prove dysfunctional …. case in point: Russia’s legislation banning … production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) … nominally implemented … to keep Russia’s food supply ‘pure.’ The passage two years ago of the law … prohibit[ing] ‘cultivation of genetically engineered plants and breeding of genetically engineered animals on the territory of the Russian Federation,’ had a practical side, mainly to protect Russia’s slowly reviving agricultural sector from becoming dependent on seeds produced by big U.S. biotechnology firms like Monsanto. And in follow-up legislation in late 2018, Russia’s parliament ordered detailed labeling for any products containing GMOs – as many foreign imports still do – in the name of consumer transparency. The law has strong public support, even if opposition to it is rife in Russia’s scientific community. … the anti-GMO measures have been framed as a rejection of ‘degenerate’ Western practices ….”

Click here for: “Russia’s GMO debate looks a lot like America’s – with more geopolitics; Russians tend to be just as concerned as their Western peers about how genetic modification might affect food products. But Russia’s bans on GMOs have become a bone of East-West ideological contention” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

[featured image is file photo from another occasion]