Ecuador: Grassroots groups fighting against GMO seed companies

telesurtv.net reported – At stake is not just the future of small and sustainable agriculture in Ecuador, but also the food sovereignty of all humanity.

Ecuador’s campesinos and civil society have launched a campaign to protect food sovereignty against transgenic firms, as they seek to impose intellectual property rights on seeds which campesinos have been cultivating for centuries.

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The campaign comes as Ecuadorean lawmakers debate a new Seed Law in the National Assembly, which could possibly empower transgenic firms to patent traditional seeds which have been used by small farmers for years.

To address the risk, campesino groups encouraged Ecuadorean citizens to register with electoral authorities before Tuesday April 19, so they can participate in a public forum on the issue which lawmakers have agreed to hold before the formal vote.

The campaign was led by Ecuador’s Seed Guardians Network, a Latin American organization which promotes agro-biodiversity, agro-ecology and food sovereignty, defending free access to over 3,000 seeds cultivated in the Andean country as a common good. Read Article