[Gen-Streitfall] Stop GM Contamination in Mexico -- Please SIGN

[Sabine]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: attac-agrarnetz-bounces at ilpostino.jpberlin.de
[mailto:attac-agrarnetz-bounces at ilpostino.jpberlin.de] Im Auftrag von
Martin Sundermann
Gesendet: Freitag, 7. November 2003 11:55
An: attac-agrarnetz at ilpostino.jpberlin.de
Betreff: [AttacAgrarNetz] Fw: Stop GM Contamination in Mexico -- Please
SIGN


Liebes Agrarnetz,
angehängt findet ihr einen Aufruf zum Unterzeichnen (bis 11.November)
von der ETC-Gruppe bzgl. Kontamination des Gen-Zentrum des Mais in
Mexiko. Ich denke, es spricht nichts dagegen sich auf der Liste der
Unterzeichnenden einzutragen, zumal Silvia und die ETC-Gruppe sehr gute
Arbeit leisten, friedliche Grüsse, Martin ps. Den ISP-Report findet ihr
auf den Seiten von www.bukoagrar.de nun in einer 'leichteren' Version
(600 kb).

GM WATCH daily
http://www.gmwatch.org
---
"One alarming fact is that the communities found widespread
contamination with Starlink maize (not approved for human consumption in
the US and finally taken off the market) and contamination of single
plants with up to three different transgenes, which indicates that
contamination has been occurring over several generations. "
---
Stop GM Contamination! -- Please SIGN
silvia at etcgroup.org

Please ANSWER BEFORE TUESDAY NOV 11
Send your signature at action at etcgroup.org
* * *
Dear friends,

A group of Mexican farmers, indigenous peoples and civil society
organizations recently released the results of their own studies of GMO
contamination of maize in Mexico.  They found that the extent of
contamination was worse than previously believed, and they even found
cases of single corn plants contaminated with multiple transgenes
derived from different GMO varieties.  The group has requested that we
initiate a sign-on letter to support them in their fight against
contamination of their native corn varieties.

The issue of the contamination in the center of genetic diversity of
maize, one of the world's most important food crops, has long-term
negative implications that extend far beyond Mexico. It is critically
important that we all work together to support the efforts of Mexican
civil society to stop the contamination.

The Mexican organizations are now trying to stop the Mexican Congress
from approving a very bad biosafety law drafted by scientists close to
the biotech industry.  This biosafety bill has already been approved by
the Mexican Senate but it's at the Chamber of Deputies for final
decision. Meanwhile, the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture has announced
the lift of the moratorium on the planting of transgenic maize in
México, while massive imports of non-segregated US corn - a high
percentage of which is genetically modified - continue to pour in, and
is likely the main source of the original contamination in Mexico.

This case of GM contamination in the center of origin of one of the
world's main food crops serves as an urgent warning that all centers of
crop diversity - risk GM contamination. It is therefore critically
important to raise this issue and the demands of Mexican organizations
at upcoming events taking place at different international forums.

Please CONSIDER SIGNING ON to this joint letter by sending your
organization name to action at etcgroup.org BEFORE NEXT TUESDAY NOV 11

Thanks!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Open letter from international civil society organizations on transgenic
contamination in the centers of origin and diversity

To the Mexican government and the international community:

On October 9, 2003, peasant farmers and indigenous communities, along
with civil society organizations in Mexico, publicly released the
results of their own testing that found GM contamination of native maize
in at least nine Mexican states, even though the planting of transgenic
maize is prohibited in Mexico. These results show far more serious and
widespread contamination than previously assumed by earlier studies (e.
g., the study by Berkeley scientists Chapela and Quist and one by the
official Institute of Ecology in Mexico. For background information, see
http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=410 and
http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=409.)

One alarming fact is that the communities found widespread contamination
with Starlink maize (not approved for human consumption in the US and
finally taken off the market) and contamination of single plants with up
to three different transgenes, which indicates that contamination has
been occurring over several generations. All identified sequences are
patented by one of the five multinationals that control the agricultural
biotechnology industry.

Mexican indigenous peoples and peasant farmers, the creators and
developers of maize, consider this contamination to be one of the
greatest attacks on their cultures, economies and livelihoods.  Maize is
a fundamental part of the diet and culture of every Mexican. We are
deeply concerned that despite the risks this contamination poses, two
years have passed since its orginal discovery with no effective action
by the Mexican government to stem the contamination. The government is
now considering lifting the moratorium on the planting of transgenic
maize, and the Mexican Congress is considering the approval of a
biosafety bill that has been sharply criticized by Mexican indigenous
and farmers' organizations as well as by civil society organizations.
The bill could facilitate further contamination.

This is an issue that concerns the entire world, as maize is one of our
most important food crops and Mexico is the repository of genetic
diversity upon which we all depend.  The policy changes being
contemplated today could place the Mexican government in the unenviable
historical role of having permitted the destruction of a resource that
is critical for future global food security, and of having put the most
treasured heritage of Mexican indigenous peoples and peasant farmers at
risk.

Uncertain is the word that best describes GM technology today. The
long-term impacts of GM contamination on crop genetic diversity are not
known. However, there is growing evidence that GM crops can pose a
threat to the stability of a crop's genome and can have other negative
impacts on related biodiversity and the environment. Recombination of
transgenic bacteria in plants and animals and the potential to trigger
allergies in those who consume GM crops are also grave concerns, as well
as the possibility of contamination by crops modified to produce
non-food substances, from plastics to pharmaceuticals. The presence of
patented traits in farmers' maize is particularly worrying because
biotech companies are aggressively prosecuting farmers for patent
infringement. Under patent law in the US and many other industrialized
countries, it is illegal for farmers to re-use patented seed, or to grow
GM seed without a licensing agreement. Farmers in North America are
being prosecuted for growing patented seeds on their land, even if they
didn't buy the seeds, or benefit from them.

Contamination of farmers' varieties threatens many centers of
cropdiversity, particularly in the third world. Although GM
contamination has been known to exist for more than two years in Mexico,
neither governments nor international institutions have taken action to
stop GM contamination and to protect farmers' and indigenous peoples'
livelihoods. Traveling transgenes are a global problem, not one confined
to maize in Mexico. Among others, GM contamination of traditional
varieties of maize in New Zealand, cotton in Greece, canola
(rapeseed) in Canada, soy in Italy, and papaya in Hawaii have been
reported. The international community and the Mexican government must
take action immediately to stop and prevent further contamination of
traditional varieties.

It is urgent that a process of decontamination be undertaken by civil
society, peasant and indigenous peoples' organizations. We support the
demand of Mexican peasant and indigenous peoples' organizations that
this process not be left in the hands of the technocrats or government
agencies that have allowed, and even promoted, the contamination. The
process of decontamination must be farmer-led. Given their intimate
knowledge of the their land, crops and farming systems, farmers are the
only actors capable of leading this process.

We call upon the Mexican Government and the Mexican Congress to:

- Maintain the moratorium against the planting of transgenic maize in
Mexico, the center of origin of this critical food crop.
- Stop immediately the importation of transgenic or non-segregated maize
- likely the main source of contamination in Mexico.
- Scrap the biosafety bill now being considered by the Mexican Congress,
which, despite its name, is not based on the precautionary principle and
does not take into account the status of Mexico as a megadiverse
country, nor does it take into account the views of indigenous peoples,
farmers and environmental organizations in Mexico.
- Stand firm against the extreme pressure being applied by the biotech
industry and by scientists closely connected to it.
- Initiate studies on the extent of GM contamination on traditional
varieties in Mexico.
- Present an emergency plan to prevent further contamination of farmer
varieties.
- Present the issue of contamination in centers of origin at the first
Meeting of the Parties (MOP 1) of the Cartagena Protocol.

We call upon the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the  Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the Cartagena Protocol
to:

- Publicly acknowledge that GM maize contamination has taken place in
Mesoamerica and that other centers of origin are threatened by the
release of GM crops.
- Immediately adopt these issues in your agendas (FAO Conference and
CGRFA Meeting, COP 7 of CBD, MOP1 of Cartagena Protocol), and take
actions to ensure the application of the precautionary principle to
prevent further GM contamination of traditional varieties everywhere in
the world.
- Acknowledge that GM contamination poses a potentially serious threat
to biological diversity, particularly in crop centers of origin and/or
diversity
- Call an immediate moratorium on the release of genetically modified
seed or grain, either for food, feed or processing, in those countries
or regions that form part of the crop centers of origin and/or diversity
for the species.
- Declare that patent infringement claims against farmers who are
victims of DNA contamination will not be permitted, and that companies
should be heldlegally liable for the contamination.
- FAO and CGIAR must adopt a comprehensive strategy and procedures to
ensure that gene bank accessions are protected from contamination. The
integrity of farmers' varieties must be maintained, with zero tolerance
for DNA contamination. The vitally important exchange of genetic
resources between gene banks and farmers must not be imperiled by
concerns about contamination.
- The FAO-CGIAR Trust Agreement must be reviewed to ensure that the
integrity of germplasm held in Trust is protected and that there are no
intellectual property claims pertaining to any of the germplasm or its
components.

ETC Group (international)
GRAIN (international)
Food First, Institute for Food and Development Policy, USA CECCAM,
Mexico CENAMI, Mexico Centro Ecologico, Brasil CET Sur, Chile CONTEC,
Mexico COSYDDHAC, Mexico Community Technology Development Trust,
Zimbabwe UNORCA, Mexico UNOSJO, Mexico OthersS


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