Organics Leaders Say No to GMOs

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina—Nothing less than a worldwide ban of genetic engineering in agriculture and food production will satisfy representatives of many of the world's leading organic farming organizations.

Citing unacceptable threats to human health, irreversible environmental impacts, and a violation of farmers' and consumers' rights, delegates at the 12th Scientific Conference of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) agreed to fight what they call the genetically engineered threat. The attendees, from 60 countries, also said genetic engineering uses methods incompatible with the sustainable agriculture principles as defined by IFOAM and further urged its member organizations to campaign rigorously against it.

Genetic engineering emerged as a major theme during the November conference, and it was one of the few issues upon which the federation reached consensus. Whether U.S. certifiers can reach an agreement with IFOAM to handle North American certification also generated heated debate.