President of Ecuador opens door to GM terminator seeds

I can't believe that Corea is doing this. I am going to let all my Ecuadorian friends know about this.

Jan forGore , I thank you for the vigilence and the choice of your subjects for action. I believe in this issue very strongly, it is the key to the future.
What happened to that amazingly beautifull Spaniel you had in your photo window? I have one just like that and hope the doggie in the window is doing well.

Starvation and poverty is what the corporations will bring to our world(how proud they must be). Modifying a tree that bares fruit to stop baring fruit, or a seed that brings vegetables/grains to stop baring grains is playing w/ a loaded gun. This will be a golden bullet for building wealth on the backs of the impoverished nations. More unnecessary suffering is on the way ....

Oh they care about you , as their slave ! They will steal your and your children's heritage , freedom , culture , resources , and health . Weather you waste away of commit suicide , it doesn't matter , they will still own your children . These vile companies have no conscience - defy them . In my opinion they have no right to exist as they do no good .

Thanks for the link Jan. its signed

They should be shut down, but our illustrious government that so many suddenly trust because Obama is in there still supports them. Matter of fact, Tom Vilsack, the Sec of Agriculture recently stated he will be pushing for more Gm as Obama disguises it as "giving more funds for science". It is as if all of our words and concerns are really falling on deaf ears. Michelle Obama plants a garden... and I say, big deal. How about those who are still having to deal with transgenic contamination, toxic pollution of our waterways, high food prices, health risks to animals and humans, etc? Why aren't they publicly standing up to the Monsantos of the world then?

It is as if by planting that garden they are saying, 'well, we got ours so you all work it our for yourselves.' I would say in his first 100 days he has been a huge disappointment on food policy ( which also effects health, environment, economy, national security, etc.) and that actions speak louder than words. Just planting your own organic garden doesn't do diddly for the rest of those who are still at the mercy of these companies' tactics to break them because this administration will not change the food policy Bush had and what has been since his father deregulated it.

I am always amazed at how easy it is to pull the wool over peoples' eyes with PR. Monsanto and industrial ag still control the USDA and FDA, and their reach is global. Nothing has changed on that front and until it does, they can grow all of the gardens they want for themselves and it won't mean anything to me.

why are they trying to destroy the planet? they should be seriously shut down for being destructive, why they havent allready is beyond me.

I also appreciate you adding the petition - signed!

They must have a team of morally bankrupt lawyers at work 24/7 , for the sole purpose of destroying all life as we know it forever , simply for the benefit of a few years of massive wealth . After that money won't be worth anything because a drop of clean water and authentic food will be a rare and priceless treasure . They wish to curse our children for infinite generations .

I don't think it's paranoid at all. Dr. Shiva has already stated as well that their tactics are more powerful than bombs. This is the clandestine war for control of the world through food and water. Not all wars happen on a a battlefield.

The makers of GM and terminator seeds obviously want to control the food production in every country.
If they control the food, they control the world. It will be up to them who eats and who does not.
This may sound a bit paranoid and conspiracy theorist, but the way they do business, intimidation, lawsuits, etc. the fact remains if they get enough control, they'll take total control.

You can take action.

You can contact the President of Ecuador at this link to tell him not to cross this precarious line in regards to our food safety and biodiversity. We must let all those regardless of country hear our voices about this dangerous unproven technology that threatens our biodiversity.

NO DEAD FOOD.

From the article:

"On February 18, 2009, the Ecuadorian Congress approved a new Law on Food Sovereignty, which, among other important points, declared the country "free of transgenic crops and seeds." However, in spite of vocal popular opposition, the legislation left the door open to approvals of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in "exceptional" cases. Now, President Rafael Correa has proposed several changes to the legislation ­ in what is known in Ecuador as a partial-veto ­ and sent it back to the Congress. The president's changes dangerously weaken the law and open the door to Terminator seeds.

Terminator technology is designed to make "suicide seeds," genetically engineered to be sterile in the second generation. The technology has been widely rejected around the world by farmers' movements, governments, research institutions and UN agencies as dangerous, immoral and undesirable.

Alarmed by President Correa's proposals, civil society is now calling on him to drop his amendments and to explicitly ban Terminator technology.

"It's very disturbing that a law that aims to affirm food sovereignty could instead clear the way for a technology that was designed to prevent it," said Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the companies that designed suicide seed technology did so explicitly to replace what they called peasants' 'old seeds.' Since 2000, when a de facto moratorium against Terminator technology was agreed at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity [CBD], these companies have re-branded Terminator as a 'biosafety' tool. This is the interpretation reflected in the president's amended text. Ribeiro adds, "We're worried that this kind of language is showing up in several countries in the global South and we see it as a new push by the biotech industry to overturn the moratorium on Terminator at the CBD's meeting next year in Japan."

Article 26 of Ecuador's Law on Food Sovereignty, entitled "Regulation of biotechnology and its products," allowed for the import and processing of "raw materials containing transgenic inputs, provided they meet the requirements of health and safety, and that the reproductive capacity of the seeds is disabled by breaking [of grains] (.)"

The explicit clarification of "seed disabled by breaking" was included to ensure that if transgenic seeds were imported through food aid, or for processing, accidental gene flow from these grains would not contaminate crops in Ecuador, as has tragically happened in Mexico and other countries.

The partial-veto of President Correa removes the phrase "by breaking"[1] from this article, arguing that breaking the grains would mean increased costs. The result is that the amended wording now allows for the importation of GM materials provided only that the "reproductive capacity of seeds is disabled." Such language equals an acceptance of grains with Terminator technology.

Elizabeth Bravo of Acción Ecológica, an internationally-respected environmental civil society organization in Ecuador, comments, "Unfortunately, the president's changes to the legislation reflect the influence of his biotech industry-friendly advisors. Terminator is an experimental technology that has never been proven. Scientific reports submitted to the CBD demonstrate that the complexity and instability of Terminator seeds mean that, in practice, there will still be leakage of GM traits. We could face a worst-case scenario: Ecuador enabling both GM contamination and suicide seeds. That is a direct threat to agricultural biodiversity, an essential basis for food sovereignty in Ecuador."