VICTORY FOR GMOS HAS LITTLE POLITICAL/ECONOMIC

UNCLAS ROME 001071 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, PLEASE PASS TO FAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD IT SUBJECT: VICTORY FOR GMOS HAS LITTLE POLITICAL/ECONOMIC IMPACT Anti-GMO Law Declared Unconstitutional. -------------- ¶1. On March 17, the Italian Constitutional Court struck down a 2005 law prohibiting "coexistence," growing genetically-modified crops next to organic ones, and mandating criminal penalties for farmers violating the 2005 legal prohibitions. The law had had the practical effect of banning genetically-modified crops in Italy. The ruling was a victory for the few Italian champions of genetically-modified organisms and illustrates the continuing controversy surrounding genetically-modified food. Politicians Decline to Exploit Ruling. -------------- ¶2. Despite this controversy, it is unlikely that GMOs will be a political issue in the upcoming elections. Giovanni Alemanno, the anti-GMO Agriculture Minister, was expected to introduce emergency legislation banning coexistence soon after the Court's decision. Alemanno is running for mayor of Rome this summer for the center-right National Alliance (AN) party; he often uses his position as Agriculture Minister to boost his visibility. However, for reasons still unclear, Alemanno did not introduce emergency legislation and seems content to allow the issue to be resolved after the April 9-10 elections. Similarly, though the center-left has at times been more anti-GMO than the center-right, neither side has taken up the Court's ruling as a campaign issue. Comment -------------- ¶3. Though GMOs have historically been a controversial issue in Italy and the Court's ruling was a seemingly dramatic victory for GMO supporters, GMOs have not become an election issue. This is probably because the Court's decision affects only a few corn-growing farmers in the northeast of Italy, and this fact minimizes the court's decision's economic impact. Moreover, there still exists a great across-the-board hostility in Italy towards genetically-modified food. Both political coalitions, more or less, agree on the GMO issue; and regardless of who wins the election, it remains unlikely that the new Agriculture Minister will ensure that Italian farmers have access to even the approved varieties of genetically-modified crops. SPOGLI