Going into the negotiations that recently produced the first global treaty on biosafety, no region was more fragmented on the question of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) than Latin America. From Argentina, which has so embraced transgenic crops that some 80% of its soybean output is genetically modified, to Paraguay, which is enjoying a surge in “GMO-free” exports, Latin nations spanned the spectrum of opinion. To reach the treaty’s goal of regulating trade in GMOs, they favored approaches ranging from the laissez-faire to the strictly controlled. Their patchwork of positions stood in stark contrast to the largely uniform blocs of opinion in other regions of the world. And Latin America’s divisions extend deep within its national governments. In Brazil, the question of transgenic crops... [Log in to read more]