Brasilia, October 12 (RHC)-- Under the pretext that Brazil's stock of corn could drop in 2017, the coup government of Michel Temer approved the largest importation of transgenic seed from Monsanto and Bunge, despite protests from farmers in the country.
According to a statement from the Secretary of International Relations of Agribusiness Odilson Ribeiro Silva: “The measure will benefit the industries and producers that use corn to feed cattle.”
Monsanto's GM maize, authorized for commercial use in Europe and Brazil, has caused controversy over its safety. According to the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology magazine, genetically modified maize is toxic to the liver and kidneys.
Now, with the ouster of Dilma Rousseff and the new coup government in place, the Brazilian Chamber Exterior Commerce will allow the importation of up to one million tons of corn by the end of the year, duty-free.
Monsanto currently has a monopoly on the world transgenic agricultural market and produces 80 percent of world corn and 93 percent of world soy.