Battle of the beans: Brazil should go both ways on transgenic soy, keeping European consumers on board.

Sooner or later, there had to be a food fight.

For three years now. Brazil had been the only major agricultural exporter to stave off genetically modified soybeans. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva even made a campaign promise to uphold a court ruling that keeps farmers from using the technology, which adds a protein to make the plants more resistant to pests and disease.

For years, Brazilian farmers in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul have been planting transgenic soybeans from neighboring Argentina, where such crops are legal. The coveted seeds require less weed killer and tillage and improve yields nearly 70%. As the harvest neared, Lula agreed to an emergency measure that lifted the ban for the current season and only for farmers who already have the seeds in Rio Grande do Sul.

Not surprisingly, Lula's critics are irate that he reneged on his promise and fear the decree will lead to a permanent approval of altered soy, They want the government to employ rigorous environmental impact studies as required by the courts before making a permanent decision. They worry about the long-term health effects on consumers and fear genes from modified plants might escape, creating super weeds, accidental crossbreeding in nearby plants and the poisoning of other insects and creatures.

But Lula had little choice. An estimated 70% of soy grown in Rio Grande do Sul is genetically modified, or GM. Destroying the harvest would have triggered the collapse of the state's agricultural sector. "Either we prohibited GM soy and ordered the police to set fire to it, which would have been a horrible picture in a country suffering from hunger," Lula told the country in a radio address, "or we could ... create a situation that would allow its sale."

While Brazil may finally hop on the transgenic bandwagon--GM crops already cover inure than 18 million hectares in Latin America--it would be a major mistake to embrace the trend wholeheartedly. Instead, Lula should follow the example of Parana, a southern state bordering Rio Grande do Sul. Less than two weeks after the emergency decree that overturned the ban, the Parana state legislature declared the area off-limits to transgenic seeds. Farmers there want to preserve their export market to Europe. Officials since have seized tons of altered soy entering the Parana port of Paranagua.

The 15-member European Union (EU) is Brazil's top soy export market, at more than 50% of output, simply because Brazil is the world's largest producer of conventional, non-transgenic soybeans. Even though a study by the United Nations says GM products currently sold are sale to eat, the report has not convinced most Europeans who fear potential health and environmental problems. In an EU study, nearly three-quarters of those polled said they wouldn't eat so-called "franken-foods," even if they were cheaper. "The mistrust [of] GM food is enormous," Karl Erik Olsson, a member of the European Parliament from Sweden, said recently.

Home rule. Lula, who says he will create a commission to safeguard the environment, hopes that by planting season next year the Congress will pass a new law defining once and for all Brazil's policy on transgenic crops. And when that day comes, I hope foreign chemical companies like the United States' Monsanto, salivating to collect millions in royalties, will not sway lawmakers into forcing Brazil to become like Argentina, where 100% of crops are now transgenic.

As long as health and environmental dangers are unclear and Europeans continue to reject transgenic crops, there is big business to be done by steering clear of altered soy. It makes sense to create transgenic exclusion zones where farmers can sell soybeans at premium prices and where local governments can impose strong regulations to ensure soy products meet the standards of European consumers.

Brazil can't keep determined farmers from using smuggled seeds. Scientists estimate that between 10% and 30% of the nation's entire soybean harvest is already tainted. But Brazil can grow both conventional and transgenic soybeans and should concentrate on creating markets for both.

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