The Guardian 26 October, 2005
Ban Terminator seeds!
Join the global campaign!
The Terminator warned, "I’ll be back!", and the Gene Giants, in cooperation with governments, are rolling out the red carpet. Once again, genetic seed sterilisation technology is threatening the 12,000-year-old tradition of farmers saving, adapting and exchanging seed and the 1.4 billion people who depend on farm-saved seed as their primary seed source. The action group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group) urges you to participate in the global BAN TERMINATOR campaign (see below). Support is particularly critical in advance of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meetings in Spain and Brazil early next year, where Terminator is on the agenda. Let’s terminate Terminator, once and for all!
Unfortunately, Terminator is not yesterday’s news. Corporations and governments are again pushing hard to commercialise Terminator technology — plants that are genetically modified to render sterile seeds at harvest. The Canadian Government tried to overturn the international (United Nations) de facto moratorium on Terminator in February 2005. To meet this new crisis and re-build global opposition, we ask you to join the new Ban Terminator Campaign and take action with us.
We will work to establish a ban on Terminator at the major meetings of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity: January 23-27 in Spain and March 20-31 in Brazil.
Your action is needed NOW to make this happen.
We ask individuals, communities and groups across the world to take action locally, nationally, and internationally as part of the new global strategy.
The Ban Terminator Campaign seeks to promote government bans on Terminator technology at the national and international levels, and supports the efforts of civil society, farmers, Indigenous peoples and social movements to campaign against it.
The international de facto moratorium on Terminator technology at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is under attack. Two upcoming meetings of the CBD where Terminator is on the agenda — the Working Group on Article 8 (j) in Granada, Spain January 23-27 and the 8th Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the CBD in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil March 20-31 2006 — offer important opportunities to strengthen the moratorium. The build-up to these meetings is also an important opportunity to encourage governments to establish national prohibitions on Terminator technology — just as Brazil and India have done. Corporations will not stop their efforts to commercialise Terminator until governments prohibit the technology.
The Ban Terminator Campaign was initiated in response to recent efforts by governments and corporations to push for Terminator field trials and commercialisation.
Abridged Appeal from ETC
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Groups and communities please endorse the campaign so we can show governments how strong the global opposition is www.banterminator.org/take_action/sign_on_to_ban_terminator
Subscribe to receive Action Alerts and breaking news so that you can take immediate action when it is needed the most: http://www.banterminator.org/take_action/subscribe
Join with others in your area to pressure your government to ban Terminator nationally and at the United Nations. We can help provide materials and contacts.
Organise events and actions — become a Ban Terminator contact and organiser.
Share information on Terminator in your community so that we can work together.
Pass a resolution in your group or community against Terminator to communicate your protest and reasons clearly for all to see.
Visit http://www.banterminator.org for action ideas, information and campaign materials.