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While the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association, along with Monsanto and other poison makers try to slip a labeling-by-choice campaign past citizens in the US, Russia is preparing a bill that would heavily restrict the import of genetically modified agricultural produce, as well as stop it altogether from being produced domestically.

The initiative is backed by the parliamentary majority, and is an amendment to the existing law “On Safety and Quality of Alimentary Products,” which sets norms for the maximum content of transgenic and genetically modified components in Russia’s food. The author of the bill is Evgeny Fyodorov, a member of the United Russia party. A group called Russian Sovereignty also supports the initiative. Some are calling this a long shot, but if it were to pass, it could be another nail in the Biotech industry’s coffin.

The innovative draft law does not suppose a total ban, says Mr. Fyodorov, but it does put imports under the government’s control and keeps it from being grown locally. Imported products that were tested with high levels of transgenic and genetically modified ingredients would be subject to refusal.

Russia already banned some GMO imports such as Monsanto’s GMO corn, and Russia already has a labeling law. Anything that contains more than 0.9 percent GMO has to have a label and warn consumers. Last year a resolution was passed which requires a listing of all genetically modified plants in the state, but it doesn’t go into effect until this July. Fyodorov wants to make that a zero tolerance policy for all foodstuffs produced in country. The draft includes a ban on GMO plants, animals, or anything of microbial origin, which is good thinking since AquaBounty’s GMO salmon almost made it into our food supply already.

The specific measure of banning GMO food within the country is to prevent Monsanto and other companies from trying to set up shop
within Russia.

Yakov Lyubovedsky, the head of Russia’s Organic Farming Union thinks that if Duma (the Russian State) can pass the bill, it would defend the entire country’s population from genetically modified foods and represent the overwhelming interests of the people at large – not the Biotech corporations.