[E-rundbrief] Info 216 - RB 116 - Pat Mooney: Nano- u. Gentechnologie.

Mi Mär 23 21:46:14 CET 2005

E-Rundbrief - Info 216 - Rundbrief Nr. 116 - Pat Mooney: Nanotechnologie - 
mißbrauchte Bausteine des Lebens; ETC-Group: Terminator-Gentechnologie. 
Suicide Seeds - Bombshell in Bangkok. UN-Konferenz über Biologische 
Diversität/ CBD.

Bad Ischl, 23.3.2005

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Nanotechnologie

Missbrauchte Bausteine des Lebens

Pat Mooney, ein kanadischer Ökoaktivist und Alternativer Nobelpreisträger, 
warnte uns bei der Alternativen-Tagung im Goethe-Institut in München vor 
den Folgen einer verstärkten Forschung und Anwendung von Nanotechnologie. 
Sie soll bei dem Gipfeltreffen der Staatschefs der G8 Anfang Juli in 
Schottland beschlossen werden. Ein Argument liefert China, aus dessen 
Forschungsbudget angeblich 60% - und viele kostengünstig arbeitende 
Wissenschafter - eine Nanotechnologie-Offensive gefördert wird. Ähnlich wie 
bei der Atomtechnologie ist es der Konkurrenzkampf, der seriöse 
Untersuchungen der unabsehbaren Folgen - im Rahmen eines Moratoriums - be- 
bzw. verhindert. Die komplexe Technologie, die aus den Grundbausteinen des 
Lebens neue Anwendungen und auch veränderte Lebensformen schaffen kann, 
werden u.a. von Pat Mooneys Institut ETCGroup (www.etcgroup.org) erforscht 
und publiziert. Demnächst wird er einen Appell zu den Gefahren der 
Nanotechnologie veröffentlichen, den wir auch im E-Rundbrief verbreiten 
werden; ebenso einige Grundsatztexte (zu "Nano-Kriegstechnologien" siehe 
Info 198).

Vorerst zufrieden zeigte sich Pat Mooney in einem Gespräch mit mir über den 
Erfolg bei der UN-Konferenz zur Konvention über Biologische Diversität. Es 
gelang Gentechnikgegnern - dank der Unterstützung durch staatliche 
Delegierte (u.a. aus Österreich) - für weitere 12 Monate das Moratorium 
über die Terminatortechnologie (sterile Saaten) zu verlängern. (Siehe die 
Presseaussendung der ETCGroup unten).

Pat Mooney hat uns versprochen, dass er bei seinem nächsten 
München-Aufenthalt kurz zu einem Vortrag nach Salzburg kommen wird. Weiters 
wird er auch am Treffen der Alternativen Nobelpreisträger (v. 8. - 
13.6.2005 in Salzburg) teilnehmen.

Matthias Reichl

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Terminator-Gentechnologie

Suicide Seeds - Bombshell in Bangkok

ETC Group

News Release

Friday, February 11, 2005

www.etcgroup.org

Suicide Seeds - Bombshell in Bangkok - Canadian-Led Coup to Allow 
Terminator Technology - Narrowly Squelched at UN Meeting.

Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian farmer who was sued by Monsanto, spoke today at 
a UN meeting in Bangkok - harshly criticizing his governments' efforts to 
promote field-testing and commercialization of Terminator seeds (plants 
genetically-modified to render seeds sterile at harvest time).

"The Canadian government has acted shamefully. It is supporting a 
dangerous, anti-farmer technology that aims to eliminate the rights of 
farmers to save and re-use harvested seed," said Schmeiser. "Instead of 
representing the good will of the Canadian people or attending to the best 
interests of the Biodiversity Treaty, the Canadian government is fronting 
for the multinational gene giants who stand to win enormous profits from 
the release of Terminator seeds around the world."

Schmeiser is the 74-year old Canadian farmer who was sued by Monsanto for 
patent infringement when the company's patented, genetically modified 
canola seed invaded his farm - unwanted and unwelcome. A victim of genetic 
pollution and a champion of Farmers' Rights, Schmeiser courageously fought 
Monsanto all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court.

A Canadian government proposal to unleash Terminator was leaked to the ETC 
Group on the first day of a UN meeting in Bangkok, February 7-11 (SBSTTA, 
the scientific advisory body to the Convention on Biological Diversity - 
CBD). The news stunned farmers' organizations, government delegations, and 
civil society worldwide. Ottawa's instructions to the Canadian delegation 
in Bangkok called for an all-out push for field-testing and 
commercialisation of sterile seed technologies, effectively un-doing the 
precautionary, de facto moratorium on Terminator seeds adopted by 
governments in 1998. Even worse, the Canadian delegation was instructed to 
"block consensus" by governments attending the meeting if it didn't get its 
way. ETC Group has also learned that, in advance of the Bangkok meeting, 
Canadian embassies around the world asked governments to support a 
recommendation for "field testing and commercial use" of Terminator. 
Canada's blatant promotion of an anti-South technology does not bode well 
for the G8 meeting of world leaders in July in Scotland where Canada will 
propose to introduce nanotechnology on the G-8 agenda.

After being swamped this week by protest emails and letters, the Canadian 
government was forced to soften its public position on Terminator, but it 
continued to press a solidly pro-Terminator view in the corridors and in a 
committee appointed to negotiate draft text on Terminator. (The drafting 
group on Terminator included representatives from Canada, the European 
Community, Peru, Tanzania, and the Philippines.) By Thursday morning Canada 
and its seed industry allies had drafted text that included language 
promoting Terminator field trials, capacity building for the use of 
Terminator in the developing world and specifically invited the research 
participation of "private sector entities."

"The draft text on Terminator released Thursday morning was appalling - it 
looked like it was written by the multinational seed industry," said Jim 
Thomas of ETC Group, speaking from Bangkok. "It strongly reflected the 
Canadian government 's pro-Terminator position as revealed earlier this 
week in the leaked document."

Suicide Seed Squad: Canada hasn't been working alone in Bangkok. The UN 
meeting was crawling with representatives from the biotech industry and 
related trade groups - including Monsanto, Delta & Pine Land, Crop Life 
International, PHARMA (pharmaceutical manufacturers), the International 
Seed Federation and more - who lobbied against current restrictions on the 
development of suicide seeds. New Zealand and Australia also backed the 
position of industry and Canada, while a fleet of US government 
representatives observed from the sidelines. (The US government is not a 
Party to the Biodiversity Convention.)

Thankfully, disaster was averted due to key interventions by the 
governments of Norway, Sweden, Austria, the European Community, Cuba, Peru 
and Liberia, on behalf of the African Group.

The good news is that these governments managed to delete the most 
offensive wording. The final text and recommendations reaffirm earlier 
decisions, amounting to a continuing, but fragile, de facto moratorium on 
Terminator. The issue now bounces to another CBD advisory body (the Working 
Group on 8(j)) in March 2006.

Interminable Terminator? The bad news is that decisions made in Bangkok 
will allow the issue of Terminator to be re-examined and re-studied 
interminably. In ETC Group's view, the CBD continues to dilly-dally and 
delay decisions on Terminator while the industry is moving full-speed ahead 
to bring sterile seeds to market.

"The international community needs to know that Terminator technology is a 
real and present danger. The biotech industry is chomping on the bit to 
commercialize suicide seeds. Nothing short of an all-out ban on Terminator 
will stop it from being unleashed in farmer's fields," said Hope Shand of 
ETC Group.

For more information:

Pat Mooney, ETC Group (Canada) etc at etcgroup.org:

Hope Shand and Kathy Jo Wetter, ETC Group (USA) hope at etcgroup.org: 919 960-5223

Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group (Mexico) silvia at etcgroup.org: 52 55 55 632 664

Jim Thomas, ETC Group (UK) jim at etcgroup.org: 44 (0)7752 106806 (mobile)

Note to Editors:

Terminator technology was first developed by the US Department of 
Agriculture and the multinational seed industry to prevent farmers from 
replanting saved seed. When it came to public light in 1998 massive public 
opposition forced Monsanto and Syngenta to disavow the technology.

SBSTTA is the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological 
Advice, a body that advises the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. 
www.biodiv.org

The United Nations refers to Terminator seed technology as GURTs (genetic 
use restriction technology).
For more information on Percy Schmeiser's court case, see: 
http://www.percyschmeiser.com

The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, formerly RAFI, 
is an international civil society organization headquartered in Canada. The 
ETC group is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and ecological 
diversity and human rights. www.etcgroup.org. The ETC group is also a 
member of the Community Biodiversity Development and Conservation Programme 
(CBDC). The CBDC is a collaborative experimental initiative involving civil 
society organizations and public research institutions in 14 countries. The 
CBDC is dedicated to the exploration of community-directed programmes to 
strengthen the conservation and enhancement of agricultural biodiversity. 
The CBDC website is www.cbdcprogram.org

www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=500

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Matthias Reichl

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