On 23 December 2015, Venezuela’s national assembly passed a new seed law banning the import, production and planting of GMO seeds and protecting the production and free exchange of seed varieties of Venezuela’s farming communities (indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant) among other provisions. The law is significant both for its content and for the process through which it was passed. The banning of GMOs follows the precautionary principle in that the effects of transgenic technology are not yet fully understood and what has been documented thus far in terms of impacts on human health and the environment raises significant concerns. These are in addition to concerns over socio-economic and human rights impacts on the small-scale producers who make up the majority of the world’s hungry. Special protection for locally adapted seeds recognizes the importance of local conservation for maintaining maximum genetic diversity, increasingly important for building resiliency in the face of climate change. Additionally, the law is a product of bottom-up policy-making, resulting from a three-year process in which social movements opposed an industry-backed seed law. Instead they pushed for more transformative legislation, holding a series of participatory public consultations throughout the country to develop an alternative. The passage of the law thus marks a historic win for agroecology and food sovereignty movements in Venezuela and beyond. It is perhaps one of the few national laws in the world which guarantees and protects the right of peasants to seeds. However, despite widespread domestic support and the international interest it has garnered, the law is under attack by industry representatives and their supporters for being “anti-scientific.” This places the seed law at risk of being overturned by the current national assembly, which has had an opposition majority since January of this year. As scientists, practitioners and advocates involved in food and agriculture, we question the grounds for such attacks. The thrust of the law toward a prioritization of agroecological farming practices is in keeping with a mounting scientific consensus of the importance of a shift from conventional to ecologically-based agricultural systems that value the knowledge of local food producers and involve them in decision-making. This has been emphasized, for instance, in the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) developed by 400 of the world’s leading experts and endorsed by 59 countries. We are therefore following the emerging struggle over the law and its implementation with great interest, not only for its implications for Venezuela, but for its broader implications in the face of increasing corporate consolidation of the genetic resources critical for present and future food security and food sovereignty. We stand with the food producers, scientists, and grassroots movements in Venezuela urging the National Assembly to maintain the integrity of this law and to support its full implementation. Signed: Olivier De Schutter, Co-Chair, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2008-2014), Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Professor, University of Louvain, Belgium Jack Kloppenburg, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison and founder, Open Source Seed Initiative, USA Sofia Monsalve, Secretary General, FIAN International Frances Moore Lappé, Small Planet Institute, USA Miguel Altieri, Professor, University of California Berkeley, USA Fred Magdoff, Professor Emeritus, Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, USA Philip McMichael, Professor, Cornell University, USA Ian Scoones, Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK Eric Holt-Giménez, Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy, USA Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Professor, Wageningen University, Netherlands Bernardo Mançano Fernandes, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Brazil Gayatri Menon, Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University, India Esteve Corbera, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Frederick Mills, Professor, Bowie State University, USA Anna Lappé, Small Planet Institute, USA Jennifer Clapp, Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability and Professor, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Canada Ivette Perfecto, Professor, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, USA Juliette Majot, Executive Director, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, USA Sophia Murphy, Researcher and Scholar, University of British Columbia, Canada Alastair Iles, Professor, University of California Berkeley, USA Susanna Hecht, Professor, Luskin School of Public Affairs and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA, USA Nettie Weibe, Farmer and Professor, St. Andrew’s College – University of Saskatchewan, Canada Tamara Wattnam, M.Sc. in Agroecology and PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA M. Jahi Chappell, PhD, Senior Research Fellow (as of August 2016), Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, UK Nora McKeon, Terra Nuova, Italy Mindi Schneider, Assistant Professor, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Rachel Bezner Kerr, Associate Professor, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University, USA Peter Newell, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex, UK Robin Broad, Professor, School of International Service, American University, USA Tony Weis, Associate Professor, University of Western Ontario, Canada John Vandermeer, Asa Gray Distinguished University Professor, University of Michigan, USA Edmund Oh, Associate Professor, ELM Graduate School, HELP University, Malaysia Jessica Duncan, Assistant Professor, Wageningen University, Netherlands Josh Brem-Wilson, Research Fellow, Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, UK Laura Enríquez, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of California Berkeley, USA Elizabeth Fitting, Graduate Coordinator & Associate Professor, Dalhousie University, USA Sarah Lyon, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, University of Kentucky, USA Simon Nicholson, Director of the Global Environmental Politics Program, American University, USA Molly D. Anderson, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Food Studies at Middlebury College, USA Brian Tokar, Lecturer in Environmental Studies, University of Vermont, USA Dr Francisco Dominguez, Head of Latin American Studies, Middlesex University, London, UK Marc Edelman, Professor of Anthropology, Hunter College & the Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA Wendy Wolford, Polson Professor of Development Sociology, Cornell University, USA Timothy A. Wise, Researcher, Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University, USA Michel Pimbert, Professor, The Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at Coventry University, UK John Bellamy Foster, Professor, University of Oregon and Editor, Monthly Review, USA Hannah Wittman, Associate Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems and Academic Director, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Canada Jun Borras, Professor, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Eva Frankova, Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic David Primrose, Department of Political Economy, University of Sydney, Australia Stephen Bartlett, Agricultural Mission, USA Dave Murphy, Food Democracy Now!, USA Joan P Mencher, Emerita Professor, Anthropology, City University of New York (CUNY), USA Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director, The Oakland Institute, USA Dr. Charles Francis, University of Nebraska, USA Natalia Mamonova, PhD Researcher, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Sara Keene, PhD Candidate, Cornell University, USA Huei-Ling Lai, PhD Researcher, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Judith McGeary, Esq., Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, USA Youjin Chung, PhD Candidate, Development Sociology, Cornell University, USA Wittawat Prayookwong, alumnus, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Shoshana Perrey, Graduate Student in Development Sociology at Cornell University and Gardener & Chef at Liberation Supper Club, USA Arnim Scheidel, PhD, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Lisa Stokke, Executive director, The Next 7 Project, USA Pierre Merlet, AGTER, Nicaragua/France Sharmini Selvarajah, Research Programme Manager, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Amelie Huber, PhD Candidate, Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Elyse Mills, Researcher, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Alberto Alonso-Fradejas, Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands & Instituto de Estudios Agrarios y Rurales (IDEAR), Guatemala Tsegaye Moreda, PhD Candidate, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Elizabeth Henderson, Organic Farmer, Peacework Organic CSA, Newark, New York, USA Hana Bernardová, AMPI (Association of Local Food Systems), Czech Republic Salena Tramel, PhD Researcher, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Will Fantle, Co-director, The Cornucopia Institute, USA Mercia Andrews, Rural Women’s Assembly, Southern Africa Nancy Romer, Professor Emerita, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, USA Grace Gershuny, Faculty, Green Mountain College, MS in Sustainable Food Systems, USA Andrianna Natsoulas, Food Voices, USA Martin Dagoberto, Mass. Right to Know GMOs, Massachusetts, USA Ken Thesing, ICR, Rome, Italy Eneko Garmendia, Ikerbasque Research Fellow, Spain Ben McKay, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Hannes Lammler, founding member of the European Cooperatives of Longo Mai, France Amy & Bryan Willoughby, Patchwork Farm, Copper Hill, VA, USA Russell Dale, Science and Society, USA Angela Adrar, Ecohermanas, USA Andrew Kang Bartlett, Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition, USA Tania Salerno, PhD Candidate, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Marta Zygadło, Lawyer and Masters Student of Food, Society and International Food Governance at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain LaDonna Sanders Redmond, Campaign for Food and Community Justice Now, USA Laurence Levine, Co-Founder, Kids Can Make a Difference, USA Antonio Roman-Alcalá, Alumnus, International Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands, and founder, San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance, USA Giulio Locco, Food Activist, Italy and Netherlands Denise O’Brien, Farmer and Farmer Activist, USA Jane Hodge, Rise & Root Farm, USA Jose Oliva, Food Chain Workers Alliance, USA Sarah Laeng-Gilliatt, Owner, Main Street Cheese LLC, USA Monica Ibacache, Beyond Organic Design, USA Christina M. Schiavoni, PhD Researcher, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Madison Monty,Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, USA Kelly Moltzen, Franciscan Action Network, USA Annie Shattuck, Fellow, Food First, USA Zainil Zainuddin, Local Food & Urban Agriculture Advocate/Researcher and PhD Candidate, RMIT University, Australia Fern Gale Estrow, FGE Food & Nutrition Team, USA Joann Lo, Food Chain Workers Alliance, USA Denis Mpagaze, Journalist, Author, Lecturer and Right to Food Activist,Tanzania Arnaud Apoteker, Coordinator of the International Monsanto Tribunal, France Klara Kyralova, Friends of the Earth Czech Republic John Wilson, African Food Sovereignty Activist Yunan Xu, PhD Student, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Karen Washington, Farmer, Rise & Root Farm, USA Rev. Dele, Nature’s Friends, USA Johanna Rosen, Community Organizer and Communications Specialist, Massachusetts, USA Philip L Bereano, Professor Emeritus, Technology and Public Policy, University of Washington, USA Claire Robinson, Editor, GMWatch, UK Elsadig Elsheikh, Researcher, University of California Berkeley, USA Dr. Laura Rival, Department of International Development, University of Oxford, UK Cécile Famerée, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands Erika Allen, Growing Power – Chicago, USA Shalmali Guttal, Focus on the Global South, India Colleen Cordes, Director of Outreach and Development, The Nature Institute Michael O’Callaghan, Director, Global Vision Foundation, Switzerland Afsar Jafri, Focus on the Global South, India Prof. Dr Arpad Pusztai, FRSE, formerly at the Rowett Research Institute, UK Prof. Dr. Susan Bardocz, FRSE, formerly at the Rowett Research Institute, UK Judith Hitchman, President, Urgenci International Network for Community Supported Agriculture Catherine Ponte, Master of Landscape Architecture, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, USA Margaret Nakato, Katosi Women Development Trust, Uganda Simon Anoumou Todzro, West Africa Producers and Consumers Network Gertrude Kenyangi Kabusimbi, Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN), Uganda Hannah Twomey, Alumnus University of Oxford, UK Beatriz Gascó Verdier, Diputada en Corts Valencianes, Spain Ivo Zdráhal, Associate Professor, Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic Scott Freeman, Professorial Lecturer, American University, USA Laura Calvet-Mir, Associate Researcher, Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, UAB, Spain Frank Ademba, Program Officer, MVIWATA- Kilimanjaro Network of Small Scale Farmers Groups in Tanzania GRAIN ETC Group FIAN International IFOAM – Organics international Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy, USA Alianza Biodiversidad, Latin America Terra Nuova, Italy La Red por una América Latina Libre de Transgénicos, Latin America El Grupo Semillas, Colombia La Red de Coordinación en Biodiversidad, Costa Rica Sociedad Científica Latinoamericana de Agroecología (SOCLA), Latin America National Family Farm Coalition, USA Community Alliance for Global Justice, USA Kenya Food Rights Alliance (KeFRA) The Second Chance Foundation, USA Rural Advancement Foundation International, USA Food Empowerment Project, USA Research Institute of Agriculture and Peasant Policy – Established by Korean Peasants League & Korean Women Peasant Association,South Korea Global Justice Ecology Project Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), USA Family Farm Defenders, USA Rural Vermont, USA Arid Crop Seed Cache, USA Growth Partners Africa, Kenya Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project, Oakland, CA, USA WhyHunger, USA National Farmers Union/Union Nationale des Fermiers, Canada The Oakland Institute, USA GMWatch, UK Border Agricultural Workers Project, El Paso, Texas, USA Community to Community Development, USA Hawai`i SEED, the Island Chain of Hawai`i The MOM Hui, the Island Chain of Hawai`i GMO Free Kaua`i, Kaua`i, Hawai`i The NETWORK for Sustainable Development Organization, Thailand African Centre for Biodiversity, South Africa and Tanzania Food Sovereignty Ghana, Ghana Pan-Africanist International, Belgium USC Canada Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), USA Friends of the ATC, USA/Europe/Nicaragua Red de Semillas “Resembrando e Intercambiando”, Spain Washington Biotechnology Action Council, Seattle, Washington, USA Roughwood Seed Collection, Devon, PA, USA Philadelphia Seed Exchange, Philadelphia, PA, USA Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), Canada Farmworker Association of Florida, USA Becket Films, USA CONAMUCA (Confederación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas), Dominican Republic Focus on the Global South, Thailand Urgenci International Network for Community Supported Agriculture JINUKUN, National Network for Sustainable Management of Genetic Resources, Cotonou, Benin (Focal Point of the Coalition to Protect African Genetic Heritage, COPAGEN) Friends of the Earth Australia Friends of the Earth Australia Semillas de Vida, México Via Organica, Mexico *To sign on to the declaration email: [email protected]