Biosafety Regulatory Frameworks and Status of Commercial Approvals of Genetically Modified Organisms in the CAS Countries

The book addresses the sustained growth of agrobiotechnology, highlighting that in 2009, there were 134 million hectares of genetically modified crops worldwide, with 34.14% located in countries of the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS), such as Brazil and Argentina. It highlights the importance of CAS/RES 10/2004 and the formation of Working Group 5 (WG5) to address agricultural biotechnology in the region. The document provides an overview of the regulatory frameworks of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, highlighting differences in their status and implementation dates. It also discusses the positions of these countries in relation to international treaties and the institutional framework for the evaluation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The book concludes that the countries' positions on the adoption of agrobiotechnologies have varied in recent years and presents the situation up to August 2010.