In response to the amparo granted to beekeeping organizations, farmers and environmentalists, a district judge in Yucatán overturned a permit issued by the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) to Monsanto to plant genetically modified [GM] soybeans in Yucatán. For now, the planting of GM soybeans in the state of Yucatán is prohibited.
This ruling joins similar decisions issued in Campeche in March and April of 2014 in favor of Maya beekeepers.
In February of 2012 various beekeeping organizations sued SAGARPA and SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources) on the grounds that permitting the commercial planting of GM soybeans is unconstitutional. Nonetheless, in June of 2012, SAGARPA, with SEMARNAT support, authorized the commercial planting of 235 hectares [581 acres] of GM soybeans in seven states, including Yucatán.
A spokesperson for the beekeeping organizations said the ruling exposes the violation committed by SEMARNAT in supporting the planting of GM soybeans in contradiction of negative rulings by official technical authorities who are experts in the field. In this case, as in many cases of experimental plantings of GM maize [corn], SEMARNAT decided to ignore the fact that the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the National Institute of Ecology (INE) made the ruling that the planting of GM soybeans on the Yucatán Peninsula should not be authorized, given the risks involved.
(from La Jornada)
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