21/January/21

 

A group of indigenous and afro-descendant communities in the Nariño region of Colombia has successfully taken legal action to suspend the national glyphosate aerial fumigation program, which was set to re-start in 2021. The Colombian Government’s Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of the fumigation programme identified a number of municipalities in December 2020, in which they were set to start the controversial aerial fumigation programme using glyphosate-based herbicides to control coca crops. But the Supreme Court has agreed with the communities and suspended the re-start of the programme. Sustainable Pulse

 

 

This month, 26 environmental organizations in Italy launched a powerful campaign that prevented the government from passing four bills inspired by the agribusiness lobby. The bills were proposed by the Minister of Agriculture and were set to permit GMOs, including products of new genetic modification techniques such as gene editing, to enter the country. After an intense media storm and public pressure placed on every parliamentarian of the Agriculture Committee of the Chamber, the pro-GMO decrees of the Ministry of Agriculture were not passed in their original form. GMWatch

 

 

Swing voters in the so-called "Red Wall" strongly support robust food regulations and standards, according to new research by Unchecked UK. The Red Wall is a band of constituencies that traditionally voted Labour but switched to Conservative in the 2019 election, thus supporting Brexit. The research, carried out by Unchecked UK in partnership with KSBR Brand Futures, and published yesterday, found overwhelming support for strong, well-enforced food standards among first-time Conservative voters in Red Wall constituencies. GMWatch