News: Canadian Gov. Pushes Terminator at UN Meeting

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Mon, 7 Feb 2005 09:37:31 -0500

ETC Group: News: Canadian Gov. Pushes Terminator at UN Meeting

 

 

 

 

ETC Group News Release

7 February 2005

www.etcgroup.org

 

Canadian Government to Unleash Terminator Bombshell at UN Meeting:

All-out push for commercialisation of Sterile Seed Technology

 

A confidential document leaked today to ETC Group reveals that the

Canadian government, at a United Nations meeting in Bangkok (Feb

7-11), will attempt to overturn an international moratorium on genetic

seed sterilisation technology (known universally as Terminator). Even

worse, the Canadian government has instructed its negotiators to " block

consensus " on any other option.

 

" Canada is about to launch a devastating kick in the stomach to the

world's most vulnerable farmers - the 1.4 billion people who depend on

farm saved seed, " said ETC Group Executive Director Pat Mooney speaking

from Ottawa. " The Canadian government is doing the dirty work for the

multinational gene giants and the US government. Even Monsanto wasn't

prepared to be this upfront and nasty. Canada is betraying Farmers'

Rights and food sovereignty everywhere. "

 

Terminator technology was first developed by the US government and the

seed industry to prevent farmers from re-planting saved seed and is

considered the most controversial and immoral agricultural application

of genetic engineering so far. When first made public in 1998,

" suicide seeds " triggered an avalanche of public opposition, forcing

Monsanto to abandon the technology and prompting the UN Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD) to impose a de facto moratorium on its

further development. According to the leaked instructions to Canadian

negotiators at SBSTTA 10 (a scientific advisory body to the CBD),

Canada will insist on Wednesday (9 Feb.) that governments accept the

field testing and commercialization of Terminator varieties (referred

to as GURTS -- Genetic Use Restriction Technologies). Canada will also

attack an official UN report, prepared by an international expert

group, which is critical of the potential impacts of Terminator seeds

on small farmers and Indigenous Peoples. In stark contrast to Canada's

position, the expert report recommends that governments seek

prohibitions on the technology.

 

In Bangkok, civil society and Indigenous Peoples are calling on the

Canadian government to abandon its endorsement of Terminator and to

join with other governments to prohibit the technology once and for

all. Many African and Asian governments have called for Terminator to

be banned and the European Union has also been supportive of the

existing moratorium.

 

" It is outrageous that Canada is backing an anti-farmer technology and

shameful that it will 'block consensus' on any other outcome.

Governments from around the world must not accept this bullying

tactic, " says ETC Group's Hope Shand from the negotiations in Bangkok.

" If Canada blocks decision-making on this issue, the moratorium will be

in jeopardy and terminator seeds will be commercialized ending up in

the fields of small farmers. "

 

The full leaked text of the Canadian government's instructions to its

negotiators on Terminator/GURTS follows.

 

Hope Shand and Jim Thomas of ETC Group can be contacted at SBSTTA

negotiations in Bangkok on cell phone +44 (0) 7752 106806 or by email

jim or hope

 

Pat Mooney (in Ottawa) +1 (613) 241-2267 etc

 

Kathy Jo Wetter (USA) +1 (919) 960-5223 kjo

 

The Head of the Canadian Delegation in Bangkok is Robert McLean,

Environment Canada - Robert.Mclean tel +1 (819) 997-1303

 

 

 

" Advice on the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Genetic

Use Restriction Technologies (GURTS);

 

Canada has major reservations regarding the recommendations in the

AHTEG report. Canada notes that the experts were unable to reach

consensus and that while this is recognized in para. 15 of the report,

this should have been made clear in the recommendation section of the

report. Unfortunately, the report leaves the impression that consensus

was achieved on all of the recommendations when this was clearly not

case and in particular in terms of recommendation (b) which reads as

follows, " In view of the current lack of data, recommends that Parties

and other Governments consider the development of regulatory frameworks

not to approve GURTs for field-testing and commercial use. "

 

Canada will suggest that the document clearly indicate in the Annex

that there is no consensus on for the recommendations. Alternatively,

the AHTEG report can be referred to as the " Chairs' report " . Canada

also believes that the AHTEG report contains scientific inaccuracies

and a lack of balance in terms of reflecting both potential positive

and negative impacts of this technology, and these issues should be

addressed before the report is further distributed. We believe that it

would be beneficial for Parties and other governments to submit

comments to the Executive Secretary/CHM to represent national views to

improve the accuracy of the document, and that these be made available

to both the 8j working group and COP.

 

Additionally, Canada will propose that SBSTTA adopt a recommendation

for decision at COP8 based on the revised wording of recommendation " b "

below and will propose this recommendation be incorporated for

consideration at the 8j meeting:

 

NEW WORDING for recommendation b) of AHTEG report

 

(b) In view of the current lack of data, recommend that Parties and

other Governments consider the development of domestic regulatory

frameworks TO ALLOW FOR THE EVALUATION OF NOVEL VARIETIES, INCLUDING

THOSE WITH GURTS, FOR FIELD TESTING AND COMMERCIAL USE BASED ON

APPROPRIATE SCIENCE-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL RISK/SAFETY ASSESSMENTS.

 

In Canada's opinion the revised wording we are suggesting, strengthens

the recommendation and provides for a strong scientific assessment of

risk.

 

If we are unsuccessful in obtaining these additions (indication that

recommendations in the AHTEG report were not based on consensus OR

agreement to have national views submitted) AND changes to

recommendation " B " --or any other outcome which clearly addresses our

concern over a defacto moratorium on GURTS-- Canada is prepared to

block consensus on this issue. "

 

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