MORE FOR THE GMO SCRAPBOOK: RUSSIA’S STATE DUMA CONSIDERS A TOTAL BAN

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Joseph P. Farrell • Filed Under: Alchemy • http://gizadeathstar.com/2014/03/gmo-scrapbook-russias-state-duma-considers-total-ban/

While the Ukraine is for the moment locked into the grip of the banksters (who’ve already, it seems, begun to plunder the country [we'll have more on that tomorrow]), there are other moves afoot, this time concerning Russia and GMOs. Many of you sent me the following article, and it’s worth posting here and commenting on, because it is symptomatic, I think, of larger cultural and economic warfare issues that might also be taking place. According to the following article from RT, Russia’s state duma is considering a moratorium on the production of GMOs in that country:
Duma seeks moratorium on GMO production in Russia
There are four paragraphs in this important story I want to draw your attention to, because they seem to corroborate something I have been suspecting for a long time might be in the works:

“The State Duma’s Agriculture Committee has decided that Russia needs a ban on the registration and turnover of genetically modified organisms, local mass media reported on Wednesday. It is suggested that until specialists develop a working system of control over the GMO effects on humans and the natural environment, the government should impose a moratorium on breeding and growth of genetically modified plants, animals and microorganisms.
“Russia’s Agriculture Ministry is supporting the parliament’s position. Deputy Agriculture Minister Aleksandr Petrikov has told the MPs that the reasons behind the conservative stance on the issue are a lack of research into the various effects of GMO cultures, the absence of a working monitoring system and the fact that spreading of GMO crops could harm the biodiversity in whole regions.
“He also noted that hasty introduction of GMO cultures carries economic risks – Russia cannot compete with foreign producers when it comes to costs, but still can position itself as a producer of high-quality, GMO-free agricultural goods. Thus, any use of GMO cultures would harm the national export potential, Petrikov said.
“The ministry supports a complete ban on growing and using genetically altered organisms in the country, with the exception of those used in scientific research”

Note what this article is really saying:

1. It implies there is no system of adequate “control” over the effects of GMOs on humans, a tacit admission that, as far as Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture is concerned, the growing body of evidence of GMO effects on humans has reached the stage that it has become a concern for that nation and its substantial agriculture industry;
2. It implies further that Russia’s Minsitry of Agriculture has tacitly accepted the argument of many concerned voices in the West and elsewhere that there never was any adequate inter-generational testing of the effects of GMOs on human health, and the effects of GMOs on overall agricultural production itself and their effect on the greater environment (a matter which I blogged about recently on this site. Regular readers may recall that recent studies indicated a growing number of farmers in North America are turning away from GMOs as they inhibit productivity over the long term, and decrease profit margins). These admissions are hugely significant, since they virtually echo the findings and concerns of the Western anti-GMO movement.
3. The article implies – in the fourth paragraph cited above – that Russia intends to completely ban the planting of GMOs(and hence their production in and importation to that country), and to conduct scientific tests on them. This may be construed in a certain sense, as an open declaration of agro-economic war on the agribusiness giants of the West and on America in particular;
4. In the third paragraph cited above, the article clearly indicates Russia’s intention to “position itself as a producer of high-quality, GMO-free agricultural goods. Thus, any use of GMO cultures would harm the national export potential.”(Emphasis added).

It is this last point which I find incredibly significant and intriguing, for regular readers here, and followers of my little video commentaries (the News and Views from the Nefarium), will recall that I have been arguing for some time that one area in which we can expect the BRICSA nations eventually to “push back” against growing Euro-American economic dominance is precisely to enter the agribusiness market as major exporters of natural (or so-called “heirloom” seeds). What this statement thus presages is that such considerations are being carefully weighed in Moscow, and, if the rest of the article is any indicator, Russia also intends putting its considerable scientific talents to a careful study of the effects of GMOs on the environment, on the long-term productivity of agriculture, and on human health issues.
In short, in my opinion we are already looking at more major pushback, and it is only going to increase. The next step? We can expect Russia or other concerned nations to begin to organize and host conferences on the whole GMO issue, and this will play very well in Europe and in other regions and nations where GMOs – and the heavy-handed tactics of American agribusiness giants – have created growing opposition and concerns over the issue.