News & Updates

"Potential Impacts of the Termiantor Technology on Agricultural Production: Statements from Brazilian Farmers"

Click here to download the report (pdf 31 pages)

Prepared by: Angela Cordeiro, Julian Perez, Maria José Guazzelli

Florianópolis, December 2007

Study contracted to Centro Ecológico by ETC Group

On 13 September Brazil's Commission on the Environment rejected , by a vote of 15-4, a bill seeking to overturn Brazil's national law to prohibit Terminator technology. Supported by the biotech industry and agribusiness interests, the bill proposed to allow research and patenting of genetic seed sterilization. Social movements and civil society organizations campaigned against the bill. According to Julian Perez, of the Ban Terminator Campaign in Latin America, "allowing Terminator would weaken our biosafety law and increase the vulnerability of our agricultural system by making our farmers more dependent on a handful of multinational seed companies."

In the past, several multinational seed corporations have publicly pledged not to commercialize Terminator seeds - but, not surprisingly, there is intense industry pressure to overturn Brazil's national law prohibiting suicide seeds. Bill number 268 (2007) in the Brazilian Congress proposes to:

ETC Group News Release
13 June 2007 www.etcgroup.org
Suicide-Seed Sequel: EU's "Transcontainer" Turns Terminator into Zombie

ETC Group today releases "Terminator: The Sequel," a Communique reporting on new research related to "suicide seeds" and other genetically modified (GM) seed technologies that pose unacceptable threats to farmers, biodiversity and food sovereignty.

On June 1, 2007 the United States Justice Department gave the green light for Monsanto's $1.5 billion takeover of the world's largest cotton seed company, Delta & Pine Land (D&PL) -- the US company that developed and patented the world’s first Terminator seed technology.

(Click here to take action in Canada)

News Release, ETC Group, www.etcgroup.org

May 31, 2007

A bill to prohibit field testing and commercialization of Terminator seed technology was introduced in the Canadian Parliament today. Terminator refers to plants that are genetically engineered to render sterile seeds at harvest – a technology that aims to maximize seed industry profits by preventing farmers from re-planting harvested seed.

“Canada needs to pass this bill into law because genetic seed sterilization is dangerous and blatantly anti-farmer – suicide seeds threaten to intensify corporate control over Canadian agriculture and offers no benefits for farmers,” said Colleen Ross of the National Farmers Union.

Initially developed by the US Department of Agriculture and multinational seed companies, “suicide seeds” have not been commercialized anywhere in the world due to an avalanche of opposition from farmers, indigenous peoples, civil society and some governments. In 2000, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity recommended a de facto moratorium on field-testing and commercial sale of Terminator seeds; the moratorium was re-affirmed in 2006. India and Brazil have already passed national laws to prohibit the technology.

“Canada has led a behind-the-scenes push to undermine the United Nations moratorium,” points out Pat Mooney, Executive Director of the Ottawa-based ETC Group, “so it’s time the Canadian Government listened to the people.”

“Researchers are continuing to develop and win patents on Terminator because seed sterility is simply too lucrative for industry to abandon,” said Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.

“A national law to prohibit the technology is the only way to insure that Terminator is never commercialized in Canada. The Government of Canada must show its commitment to the international community and not bow to industry pressure,” said Sharratt.

Read the full text of the Canadian bill (pdf)

For further information:

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, tel: +1 613 241 2267 email: coordinator@cban.ca

Hope Shand, ETC Group, tel: +1 919 960 5223 email: hope@etcgroup.org

The National Black Farmers Association is calling on its 66,000 members to launch a nationwide boycott of agricultural giant Monsanto to protest a proposed a $1.5 billion merger by the company that would reduce competition and crush small farmers.

A new report from the Center for Food Saftety unconditionally opposes the merger of Monsanto and Delta & Pine Land, noting that it would increase chances for the introduction of the internationally-condemned sterile seed technology known as “Terminator.” (www.centerforfoodsafety.org)

Click here to see the full report. (pdf, 58 pages)

'Insulted' Andean farmers pick GM potato fight with multinational Syngenta
A coalition of indigenous farmers in South America will today (12 January) launch an international protest against the multinational corporation Syngenta, claiming that its plans threaten their region's biodiversity, culture and food sovereignty.

Monday December 4, 2006 Ottawa - On Friday December 1st in Winnipeg, a representative from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada admitted that the department has no capacity to assess the social and economic impacts of Terminator seeds – seeds genetically engineered to be sterile after first planting – before introducing them into Canada.