Global Wind: Take Two

Our activists in Brazil have halted a deliberate attempt to contaminate conventional soya with GE in the port of Paranagua today. The Global Wind, which we stopped from loading earlier on this week attempted for a second time to load conventional soya in their GE cargo from Argentina. The activists scaled the ship and displayed a banner saying “Paraná GE free” across the top of the ship loader.

“All over the world, the GE industry is attempting to contaminate the non-GE supply,” said Mariana Paoli our GE campaigner in Paranagua. “The majority of people in Brazil and around the world don’t want GE food. Fertimport, a Bunge subsidiary, is determined to load 10,000 tons of conventional soya on a GE soya contaminated ship. This is a ‘deliberate’ attempt to force people to swallow GE and deprive them of their rights to non-GE food.”

At the end of last year, the Federal Government temporarily allowed GE soya to grow in Brazil, but it failed to impose strict measures to ensure people’s access and rights to non-GE contaminated food and fields. Paraná and its port of Paranagua is the only state in Brazil
that have taken strict measures to protect people’s rights to non-GE food, by not allowing Monsanto’s GE soya to be grown or shipped from its port. But Paraná is under huge pressure to allow GE shipments.

“The Federal Government has on obligation to protect its people’s rights, and they should not allow companies like Bunge to threaten Brazil’s economic advantage as a non-GE supplier,” said Mariana Paoli.

“Paraná should serve as a model for the entire country of Brazil, its decision should be respected and strong measures should be imposed nationally against GE contamination, and violators should be held responsible.”

Earlier this week we stopped the Global Wind from entering the port of Paranagua for more than 10 hours until the bad weather forced the our activist to come off the anchor chain. The Global Wind is carrying about 30,000 tons of GE soya.

Find out More:

-Read our story: Global Winds has wind taken out of its sails

- Read our in-depth document about Soya

- Read our in-depth document: Hanging in the Balance: GE Battle in Brazil

- Find out about the Galateia sailing GE Free

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