Canadians Say “No” to Terminator
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March 2006
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Percy Schmeiser, Vandana Shiva, and Colleen Ross in Ottawa to make the case against Terminator
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The global commitment to a moratorium on Terminator Seed was renewed and strengthened at a meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Brazil. While the issue has certainly not been put to rest, this is a victory for farmers everywhere. It is now time to work on an all out ban on the technology.
The Canadian government, which has worked to end the moratorium, has tempered its own position on Terminator because of public outcry. The outrage was evident at a ‘citizen’s inquiry’ style forum organized on March 20th, when the moratorium was still facing an imminent threat.
Nearly 1,000 people gathered in Ottawa to debate the technology. Members of the Ban Terminator campaign – including ETC Group, Inter Pares, The National Farmers’ Union, and USC Canada – organized an open forum on the issue to raise awareness among the public.
A number of prominent advocates for a global ban on Terminator were on hand to present the case against Terminator – also known as suicide seed. Presenters outlined the history of Terminator seed and how the global moratorium came into effect in 2000.
What is Terminator?
Officially known as Genetic Use Restriction Technology (GURT), Terminator refers to the biotechnology approach by which seeds are genetically modified to produce plants with seed that becomes sterile at harvest. That prevents farmers from saving seeds to plant the following season.
Seed saving is imperative given the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates 1.4 billion people are fed by farmer-saved seed. If Terminator becomes the norm, every year farmers would need to buy seeds from seed companies without the possibility of re-planting. Depending on the outcome of UN meetings in Brazil, that might soon come to pass
International Condemnation
Dr. Vandana Shiva, a physicist, philosopher, and renowned environmental activist condemned the technology. She said it was more than just suicide seed and referred to it as genocide seed because it involves the wilful introduction of something that will lead to the extinction of a group of people – in this case, farmers.
| Read a transcript of the entire event. | |
| Watch Vandana Shiva’s presentation | |
| Part 1 | |
| Part 2 | |
| Part 3 | |
| Part 4 |
She said The United States is the driving force behind this technology, saying “The US never became a member of the UN Biosafety Convention and so it is using Canada to do its dirty work.” Shiva called on parliamentarians to “do what India has done and ban the terminator seed.” With popular opinion in Canada mounting against the technology, the government might have little other choice.
Percy Schmeiser – the Saskatchewan farmer who took on Monsanto Corporation at the Supreme Court over the issue of genetically modified seed – spoke about what suicide seed means to farmers like him. “We are talking about destruction of lives here,” he said. “If multinationals win the right to sell sterile seeds, farmers will forever lose their independence.”
Several others were on hand to present the case against Terminator. Colleen Ross of the National Farmers’ Union stressed that the Canadian government has not listened to farmers on this issue. A Ban Terminator delegation joined the forum via telephone from Brazil. Time was also made available for representatives of the seed industry and the Government of Canada to present their views, but neither chose to participate and defend their positions.
Overwhelming Support for a Ban
At the end of the evening, when asked if they felt the Canadian government should seek to ban Terminator technology, the audience was nearly unanimous in their decision: Yes! That call was for the Government to ban terminator at the national level and to defend the global moratorium on Terminator seed. It remains to be seen whether the call will be heeded.
This March 20th public forum was organized to coincide with UN meetings on the issue, the so-called Battle in Brazil taking place in Curitiba, Brazil until March 31st. Since then, members of the CBD upheld a de facto moratorium on Terminator technology. Recognizing the severe impacts of sterile seed technology on farmers’ livelihoods, developing country governments fought hard to retain and, in some cases, strengthen the moratorium
The Battle in Brazil
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, along with the US government (not a party to the CBD) and a number of biotech companies were leading attempts to open the door to field testing of Terminator seeds by insisting on ‘case by case’ assessments of such technologies. A CBD working group dealing with the issue unanimously rejected that text. The recommendation still needs to be formally adopted by the plenary of the CBD, but that is expected to happen by the end of March.
The moratorium on Terminator has proven that it is susceptible to attack. The meetings in Brazil have been critical to the future of Terminator, but there is widespread recognition of Terminator as an issue that needs to be addressed with permanent measures – an outright ban.
It is time for all governments – including the Government of Canada – to enact national bans on Terminator, similar to those passed by Brazil and India. USC Canada is calling on all Canadians to help persuade the Government of Canada.
USC Canada
was founded by
Dr Lotta Hitschmanova in 1945. Our award-winning Seeds of Survival program promotes vibrant family farms, strong rural communities, and healthy ecosystems around the world.
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