| GE
Free New Zealand in Food & Environment, 23rd
March 2006
NZ's Billion-dollar Reputation
at Risk for Backing Terminator
New Zealand's international trading image is
fundamentally at risk because of Government support for Terminator
technology and Ministerial ignorance of the reasons for most
of the world backing a moratorium or ban on Terminator seeds.
Spurious arguments from the New Zealand's Minister of the Environment
that the global moratorium will prevent control of possums,
has have been picked up internationally as a sign of this country
being out of touch with the world community.(*see below).
"The 'Brand- reputation' of New Zealand has real value
to our exports and trading, but we have to be good citizens
of the world" says Jon Carapiet, spokesperson for GE Free
NZ in food and environment.
"But this is now being undermined just as surely as a GE
contamination in conventional food would undermine our reputation
for exports of natural, high quality produce."
It is concerning that ERMA has already allowed sterilisation
tests to go ahead in New Zealand in breach of any earlier agreement,
and this may be why the government is denying that there has
ever been a moratorium on Terminator and is even promoting it.
But despite such approvals in the past, New Zealand representatives
at the COP8 in Brazil must heed the protests by the world community
seeking to stop GURTS threatening the food supply and the livelihoods
of billions. Failure to back a moratorium will be an indelible
stain on our reputation and what New Zealand stands for in the
eyes of the world.
ENDS
Jon Carapiet - 0210 507 681
Indigenous
Women protest terminator inside the COP8 meeting
A
group of around thirty Indigenous women from across the Americas
staged a dignified protest against Terminator on the floor of
the negotiations at COP 8 today. They received a standing applause
from delegates and the chair remarked that it was "a heartfelt
protest that many of us feel sympathy with.. This reminds us
that we are citizens of the world not just of countries".
He said the protest will help the discussion on GURTS later
in the day. The women stayed for about ten minutes and then
left the plenary room singing traditional songs to further applause.
Day 3 -
Terminator
Item looms.. Jim Thomas – Wednesday 22 March 2006
So today
is the day that Terminator is expected to come up in the Working
Group and expectation and rumour is running high. Over 150 people
are wandering around the conference room wearing distinctive
white T-shirts which declare that suicide seeds are homicide
seeds , there are posters and stickers, flags and placards -
the front page of the Eco - the daily new service here - reminds
Canada, New Zealand and Australia that 'The world is watching'.
Governments are firming up their positions, issuing advance
statements. We too are giving press conferences and interviews
This morning Ban Terminator released a new report that indicated
the real cost of Terminator in financial terms. For example
here in Brazil, soybean farmers who currently save seed every
harvest would have to pay a further 407 million dollars per
year if terminator became the dominant seed platform and they
were forced back to seed market year on year.
One man who would oppose that is Governor Roberto Requiao who
today signed into law a decree that made the labelling of GM
food and animal feed mandatory in the state of Parana. the signing
ceremony was held at COP8 with the National Environment Minister
in attendance as well as hundreds of activist farmers from La
Via Campesina.
Meanwhile hundreds more Via Campesina farmers are occupying
a GM field trial about six hours away planted by Syngenta. Incredibly
it turns out to be an illegal trial because it is planted close
a protected reserve and last night the brazillian authorities
fined Syngenta one million brazillian reals for planting illegally.
Of course Syngenta are here at the CBD too..
We don't know how the different countries are going to line
up on the Terminator (GURTS) item this afternoon. Brazil has
issued a press statement saying that it wanst to maintain the
moratorium, is opposed to field trials and drawing attention
to the 'case by case' clause of the pro-terminator nations.
New Zealand meanwhile has put out a press statement defending
its 'case by case' argument and revealing that it is interested
in putting Terminator in wild animals (possums). New Zealand
Environment Minister David benson Pope said " If there
were some technology that ensured sterility in our possum population,
would the New Zealand public not expect us to at least consider
such a possibility? Some delegates here are aghast at how out
of touch New Zealand appears to be. It was bad enough to support
terminator crops and terminator trees but to start arguing for
terminator animals is raising eyebrows. What next? terminator
humans?!
Back
to Press Release Directory
|
