Living in Peru : your everyday companion

It is a Monday and Minister Brack greets us in an office full of maps. It is only Monday but he is astonished at the number of meetings he has booked for the week. His plans include a trip to Canada in a few hours, a date with a mining company in two days time. He says that if he had not gotten a direct flight he would have had to cancel. In spite of his busy week he warmly greets us to explain the new rules in place designed to deal with biodiversity and the patents that have generated a stir lately as well as addressing an issue which has been on everyone’s lips lately: transgenic products.

Is there a risk of Peruvian plants being patented for commercial use of multinational corporations as many environmentalists have already stated?

I am always surprised by the fact that though everyone criticizes law 29316 and what it states; they never refer to article 26 which says that to patent something it must be an invention. Any living organism present in nature is not considered an invention. A DNA strand is existing biological material in nature, a gene is also part of DNA.

So to you it is clear that genes won’t be able to be patented after all?

Our legislation makes it impossible; that it can be done in the U.S. is another matter entirely.

It has been pointed out that with these new laws on the treatment of biodiversity no certificates of origin will be necessary.

Genetic resource laws demand that there be contracts and origin certificates. In the U.S. those two things are not necessary in order to secure a patent that is not our problem, those are their laws but before the free trade agreement and before all the laws and fights there were no norms designed to protect Peruvian biological biodiversity.

But the law making aspect of it seems to be more eager in giving economic sanctions rather than actually protecting our resources.

The thing is that if someone does acquire a patent through other means be they on good faith or through fraud where a Peruvian resource is involved, the issue isn’t just annulled, there can be up to five different sanctions applied.

Before the annulment of the patent was enough.

I am not a lawyer; experts will have to decide if decision 391 of the Andean Pact will be annulled with law 29316. But that is a separate matter and the thing with us is that we always look at the negative, the depressing with a defeatist attitude. Everyone criticizes that they are going to steal our biodiversity and more. A tourist can come and take a few seeds from us in the cap of a pen or in a match box. We will never be able to stop that. Another big point is: Do we even know what we have? Peru’s resources have not been registered, not even their names. We have not registered maca, camu camu or aguaymanto. Brazil has registered over 5 000 genetic resources. That is what we have to do because we do not know what we have or what can be taken from us.

In any case, this all has to do with how Peru can take advantage of its own resources economically speaking. Isn’t that your ministry’s goal?

First of all Peru needs to know what it has, the information is spread out. Secondly, if you want to prove a genetic resource has been stolen from Peru you must study its DNA, it is necessary to find the genetic finger print of each product. If that has not been registered then our hands are tied.

Can we say we are still on the same level as the Andean community where we need to create more security for our products in order to be benefit from them?

We are in a better position than the rest of the Andean community countries because we have norms which regulate access to genetic resources, a very complete legislation in the international arena and we are keeping with the biosecurity legislation of the Carrageen Pact.    

In regard to transgenic products is the government developing a proposal on the subject?

Within the national environmental and political agenda biosecurity has been included. We still have to get a few things done in order to get a set of rules written but we will take all the time in the world to decide whether or not we let transgenic products in or not. From the Environmental Ministry’s political stand point we will stick to not letting transgenic products which could hurt Peruvian or native species such as the potato, cotton or corn be introduced; especially after what has been discovered in Mexico: The latest issue of “Molecular Energy”, has published the results of a joint study between the University of Mexico and the University of California, where it is clear that transgenic corn grown has contaminated Mexican crops.

Was it said there was no risk?

It is said, but now there is no doubt. And so we will proceed with extreme caution. Let transgenic Bananas or mangos come. That does not make up part of our biodiversity but bringing transgenic corn which could harm our own like the giant species of corn in the Urubamba or purple corn and it would be criminal and I don’t want to go down in history as an accessory to that crime. 

Are you going to propose that he growing of transgenic crops such as corn, cotton and potatoes be vetoed?

My first choice would be that this remain an organic country, with diversity and free of transgenic products. But that is what I would like, my main goal, but for that we need to ok it with society first. If we don’t get that and transgenic products are allowed into the market then it will only be those products which do not make up our biodiversity which will be brought. No corn, no potatoes and no cotton. Peru and Mexico are the largest centers of genetic mega diversity in the world and in cotton we are a center of long fine fiber.

Peru has laws which state that transgenic products are allowed.

Transgenic products are permitted all over the world but each country as to asses their options and make a decision. Mexico allowed for crops to be grown after it signed the free trade agreement with the U.S. but now it is stopping that. France has just banned BT810 corn, so has Germany. Every day you hear more about transgenic contamination.

Will this not be dealt with by the Ministry of the Environment or Agriculture?

That is handled by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, of Production and of Health. We are the focal point, that is to say the entity which calls forth meetings brings matters to a general consensus.

Will the general laws take a long time to publish?

We are going to take it slow so we don’t make any mistakes.

It is said that transgenic corn is already being grown in Peru.

Transgenic soy and corn have entered Peru from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay as animal feed. Some irresponsible individuals have taken seeds and planted them and there are illegal transgenic corn crops in Peru. It is prohibited. We are investigating the situation and we plan to press charges.

The region has still not been identified?

We know of two or three places where this has happened. We believe they are being grown in areas without a high diversity in native corn.    

Within the ten months you have been in office have you been able to indeed prove that there is political support for the environment?

Political support coming from the president is of 100%, which surprised me. The thing is that we are a new Ministry. We must be patient because in times of crisis bringing forth a new Ministry is no joke. I can assure you of that.

Add to del.icio.us | |

Sr. Ministro Brack.

Please let us examine what is happening in Mexico with transgenic corn, in India with cotton and other commodities (Monsanto criminals).

As you said, "let Peru remain an organic country" Yes, please protect us and teach our people of the dangers of transgenic foods.
Many thanks.
Jorge Meneses M.