Peru parliament backs 10-year GM moratorium

The Peruvian parliament has backed a 10-year moratorium on the cultivation or farming of genetically-modified organisms, a government statement said Friday. Congress adopted the proposal which would bar GMOs from being imported for cultivation or use in livestock, except for research purposes, late Thursday. The measure was approved in a similar vote last June but was not ratified by then President Alan Garcia, who was seen as being favorable to GM. However, Garcia's successor Ollanta Humula, who has been in power since July, has repeatedly opposed GM programs and is not expected to oppose the moratorium. Peru is one of the world's leading exporters of organically produced coffee, cocoa, fruit and cotton. There was friction over GM in the previous government's ministries of agriculture and environment.