New Zealand 's Reputation on the Line For Backing TerminatorTechnology
The world community will never be ready forGenetic Use Restriction Techniques (GURTS) or 'TerminatorTechnology' that is being developed by Monsanto. NewZealand's is putting its reputation at risk by supportingit.
"Terminator seeds" are widely viewed as a threat tofood security and to the livelihoods of millions of growers,(see www.banterminator.org). Terminator is just one of arange of sterilisation techniques called "GURTS" (GeneticUse Restriction Technologies) being developed to protectprofits. The potential impact on fragile ecosystems isenormous and a major threat to the countriesbiodiversity.
"Terminator seeds are tantamount to a crimeagainst humanity. The technology has the potential todisrupt the natural cycles of life that have sustained ourspecies through millennia" says Claire Bleakley president ofGE Free (NZ) in food and environment.
"It is vital ourgovernment keep faith with developing nations, indigenouspeoples, and growers throughout the world, by supporting amoratorium on such diabolical use of gene technology, orrisk New Zealand becoming a pariah state lacking anycredibility as an ethical or fair-minded member of theinternational community".
The stance New Zealand's willtake will form part of the discussions at today'sstakeholder meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs andTrade in Wellington.
The world community is sayinglet's take time to stop at this threshold and re-examine thecomplex threat to natural bio -systems, the world s staplefood supply, trees, animals and people.
To legitimiseTerminator seeds is to deny future generationsself-sufficiency by forcing all farmers to buy new seedseach year. The world community is saying stop and thinkabout it. New Zealand must respect that.
"Moving tocommercial sterilisation of seeds is part of a process thatrisks allowing multi-national corporate s to control who canafford to farm. It could even be used as a political weaponand determine who lives and dies," says Claire Bleakleypresident of GE Free (NZ) in food andenvironment.
"Terminator is a menacing exploitation of thepeople s right to grow and save seed that many consider"God" given. Established traditional seeds are the lifeblood of a community, they belong to everyone, they havebeen protected by our ancestors and saved for us to pass onto future generations and must be protected."
New Zealandprides itself as a nation that has some shared values andwill speak up for what is right in contentious issues. TheNuclear Free stand made this world safer. New Zealandrepresentatives to the Convention on Biodiversity must notdestroy our standing or betray the shared values of NewZealanders. We must support the established moratoriumwanted by the international community and move to banTerminator Technology.
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References: TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) wishes toinvite interested groups or individuals to attend ameeting on Monday 27 February to exchange views on issuesto be discussed at two forthcoming meetings ofthe Convention on Biological Diversity: Eighth meetingof the Conference of the Parties to the Conventionon Biological Diversity (COP 8), to be held in Curitiba,Brazil, from 20 - 31 March.
Third Meeting of theParties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP), tobe held in Curitiba, Brazil, from 13 to 18 March.
Themeeting will be hosted by the Environment Division of MFATat the Ministry's head office on Lambton Quay.
Date:Monday 27 February
Time: 12:50 - 4:30 pm
Venue: Level12, HSBC Tower, 195 Lambton Quay, Wellington
It would beappreciated if those interested in attending thismeeting could confirm their participation by emailjonathan.curr@mfat.govt.nz or telephone (04) 4398442. NZ s Backing for Monsanto s "Terminator" seedsPrompts Global Battle for Ban GE Free Press Releasewww.gefree.co.nz
The decision by US company Monsanto tocommercialise "Terminator" gene technology to createssterile seeds that farmers cannot replant, has shockedcommunities around the world. The move has prompted a globalcampaign to have Terminator banned (seewww.banterminator.org), and has put the spotlight on the NewZealand government s shocking support for Terminator despiteworldwide opposition.
The New Zealand government refusesto accept that there has ever been a de-facto moratorium onTerminator established by governments in 2000, and isbacking the biotechnology industry's attempt to removeit.
"The New Zealand government's stance is a betrayal ofbasic values that most New Zealanders hold dear, and bringsenormous shame," says Jon Carapiet from GE Free NZ in foodand environment.
In October 1999, then-CEO of Monsanto,Robert Shapiro, wrote in an open letter to the head of theRockefeller foundation, "I am writing to let you know thatwe are making a public commitment not to commercializesterile seed technologies, such as the one dubbed'Terminator. " But now Monsanto has changed its plans andsays it will introduce Terminator in non-food crops.Monsanto s change of heart shows that its promises are notto be trusted, and that 'Terminator technology must bebanned.
GE Free NZ in food and environment is amongst over300 organisations to sign up in support of the ETC Group'spetition for all nations to come to consensus and block thedeliberate creation of seed that becomes infertile after thefirst generation.
'Terminator' and other GURTS (GeneticUse Restriction Technologies) are widely seen as a threat tosustainability, food security and the livelihoods ofbillions of people reliant on food from seed saved each yearfor replanting the next, and the technology is widelyconsidered a crime against humanity.
At a recentsubsidiary meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity(known as the Working Group on 8j), Australia, backed by theNew Zealand government introduced text recommending thatTerminator technologies be approached on a "case by caserisk assessment" basis. This language echoes Monsanto s new'pledge . The intention behind the 'case by case approachis to see Terminator plants regulated just like any otherGMO -- ignoring the uniquely devastating societal impacts ofseed sterility.
"Backing Terminator puts us on thewrong side of history and on the wrong side of the battlefor global social justice and sustainability," says MrCarapiet.
"Terminator is a fundamental threat not just tofarmers and the environment but also to social justice andfood security. Terminator is an anathema to Christian andmost other religious traditions, and to Maori and indigenouspeoples around the world. The Labour lead government andMP s from the Progressive, New Zealand First and UnitedFuture Parties, must stop this betrayal of the common goodand ensure New Zealand support the ban on Monsanto'sTerminator technology", says Mr Carapiet.
Terminatortechnology was developed by the United States Department ofAgriculture and US seed company Delta & Pine Land to preventfarmers from saving and re-using harvested seed, forcingthem to buy new seeds each season. The technology has neverbeen field tested and is not yet commercially available,although Delta & Pine Land is now testing Terminator plantsin greenhouses and vows to commercialize them.
Afterdelaying for many years, the European Patent Office hasrecently granted a patent on this technology.
Thenext stage of the battle is expected at the United NationsConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Curitiba, Brazil(March 20-31 2006).
"The world is watching and New Zealandmust keep faith with the peoples of the world or see ourstanding in the family of nations forever undermined." saysMr.Carapiet
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