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Who was Canada shilling for in Bangkok? | |||||||
| Niagara Falls, Ontario, Saturday, March 5, 2005 by: Joe Hueglin |
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| In Bangkok the Canadian delegation, acting under orders from Ottawa, produced a document aiming at extending the use of seed genetically engineered to be sterile at harvest time. | ||||||||
| Why? In order to further the interests of farmers who have forever saved the seed from one harvest for the next sowing season? Who save seed from plants adapted to local conditions? Who are through this not dependant as they would be should sterile seed become the norm? | ||||||||
| Not likely. | ||||||||
| Whose interests in Canada were served by the Canadian delegation drafting" | ||||||||
"text that included language promoting Terminator field trials, capacity building for the use of Terminator in the developing world and specifically invited the research participation of "private sector entities." |
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| None. | ||||||||
| Why then? The only conclusion left. Canada was acting at the behest of the sterile seed producers and their sponsor. The United States of America, while not binding itself by being a party to the Biodiversity Convention because it chooses not to be bound by group decisions, had representatives present. | ||||||||
| Terminator technology: Terminator technology was first developed by the US Department of Agriculture and the multinational seed industry to prevent farmers from replanting saved seed. When it came to public light in 1998 massive public opposition forced Monsanto and Syngenta to disavow the technology. SBSTTA is the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, a body that advises the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. www.biodiv.org The United Nations refers to Terminator seed technology as GURTs (genetic use restriction technology). The position taken leading into the Bangkok Conference is found at: Agricultural Biodiversity:Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTs) http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/areas/agro/gurts.asp |
The conclusion drawn may be inaccurate. The Government of Canada, however, has a responsibility to explain its attempts to foster an actions of no value to Canada and particularly to Canadian farmers. Actions, fortunately, deep-sixed by | |||||||
"key interventions by the governments of Norway, Sweden, Austria, the European Community, Cuba, Peru and Liberia, on behalf of the African Group." |
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| References: | ||||||||
Suicide Seeds - Bombshell in Bangkok |
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| Images: | ||||||||
Percy Schmeiser, upper left, agriculture Canada and the UN's biological diversity report graphic |
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