Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ROME1071
2006-04-07 15:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Rome
Cable title:
VICTORY FOR GMOS HAS LITTLE POLITICAL/ECONOMIC
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHRO #1071 0971504 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 071504Z APR 06 FM AMEMBASSY ROME TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4361 INFO RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC PRIORITY 4215 RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC PRIORITY
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.
--------------------------------------
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
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