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Terminator rejected! A victory for the people

Just an hour ago here in Brazil, the Chair of the UN meeting announced that governments have agreed to reject language that would have undermined the moratorium on Terminator.

Groups, communities and individuals across the world have joined together in this fight to ban Terminator and your action has been effective in this important first step.

The Ban Terminator Campaign will continued to monitor the meetings today and next week.

Terminator rejection - a victory for the people

A broad coalition of peasant farmers, indigenous peoples and civil society today celebrate the firm rejection of efforts to undermine the global moratorium on Terminator technologies - genetically engineered sterile seeds - at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Curitiba, Brazil.

"This is a momentous day for the 1,4 billion poor people world wide, who depend on farmer saved seeds," said Francisca Rodriguez of Via Campesina a world wide movement of peasant farmers, "Terminator seeds are a weapon of mass destruction and an assault on our food sovereignty. Terminator directly threatens our life, our culture and our identity as indigenous peoples", said Viviana Figueroa of the Ocumazo indigenous community in Argentina on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity.

"Todays' decision is a huge step forward for the Brazilian Campaign against GMOs," said Maria Rita Reis from the Brazilian Forum of Social movements and NGOs, "This reaffirms Brazils' existing ban on Terminator. It sends a clear message to the national government and congress that the world supports a ban on Terminator." "Common sense has prevailed lifting the Moratorium on the Terminator seeds would have been suicidal  literally," said Greenpeace InternationalÂs Benedikt Haerlin from the Convention meeting. "This is a genuine victory for civil society around the world - it will go a long way to ensuring that biodiversity, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers around the world are protected."

Terminators, or GURTS (Genetic Use Restriction Technologies), are a class of genetic engineering technologies which allow companies to introduce seeds whose sterile offspring cannot reproduce, preventing farmers from re-planting seeds from their harvest. The seeds could also be used to introduce specific traits which would only be triggered by the application of proprietary chemicals by the same companies.

At the CBD Australia, Canada and New Zealand along with the US government (not a party to the CBD) and a number of biotech companies were leading attempts to open the door to field testing of Terminator seeds by insisting on Âcase by case assessment of such technologies. This text was unanimously rejected today in the CBD's working group dealing with the issue. It still needs to be formally adopted by the plenary of the CBD.

Despite today's victory, there is no doubt that the multinational biotech industry will continue to push sterile seed technology. ÂTerminator will rear its ugly head at the next UN CBD meeting in 2008. The only solution a total ban on the technology once and f or all," concluded Pat Mooney of the Ban Terminator Campaign. Now all national governments must enact national bans on Terminator as Brazil and India have done.

contact@banterminator.org

http://www.banterminator.org

This was an email sent to me on 23 Mar:

**** URGENT *** URGENT *** URGENT ****

AS YOU READ THIS, delegates at the UN Convention on Biological

Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil are debating Terminator technology.

Canada's delegation appears to be undecided. We need to make the

BIGGEST POSSIBLE NOISE right NOW to help them make the right decision

and ban Terminator technology. Every voice counts! Please help make a

difference RIGHT NOW!

Please take a minute to call:

RONA AMBROSE, Environment Minister: (613) 996-9778

Email: Ambrose.R@parl.gc.ca

CHUCK STRAHL, Agriculture Minister: (613) 992 2940;

Email: Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca

KEVIN LYNCH, Clerk of the Privy Council Office, and Secretary to

Cabinet, tel: (613) 957-5400

Email: klynch@pco-bcp.gc.ca

Our preference is that you call rather than e-mail, but if you choose

to send an e-mail, please see a sample message below (add or edit as

you please):

---------------

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

To: The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment

CC: The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture

CC: Mr. Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council Office and Secretary

to

Cabinet

Dear Ms. Ambrose,

Please speak for Canadians!

Please do the right thing!

Instruct the Canadian delegation in Brazil immediately to Ban

Terminator Technology Now and Forever!

----------------

_______________________________________________

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contact@banterminator.org

http://www.banterminator.org