BAN TERMINATOR SEEDS – JOIN THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

Please circulate widely and get involved. (posted October 2005)

 http://www.banterminator.org – (English, Español, en français)

Terminator Technology – “Suicide seeds” are back! Your action is needed.

Unfortunately Terminator is not yesterday’s news. Corporations and
governments are again pushing hard to commercialize 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.

Mobilization is needed now to pressure governments to ban Terminator
nationally and internationally. There are two important United Nations
meetings coming up where debates on Terminator are planned. 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.

Many of you are working to secure Farmers’ Rights, food sovereignty and
the self-determination of your peoples and communities. You have
successfully opposed Terminator in the past. Please add Terminator to
your campaign work now - and please add your work and voices to the Ban
Terminator Campaign.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

- Groups and communities please “Endorse the Campaign” so we can show
governments how strong the global opposition is
 http://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.
- Organize events and actions - Become a Ban Terminator contact and
organizer.
- 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

Your input is important to us – join the strategy – participate in the
campaign.

COMING SOON! to www.banterminator.org : “Select Your Country” Action
and Frequently Asked Questions

HOW YOU CAN CONTACT US:

Visit  http://www.banterminator.org
 contact@banterminator.org
Full contact details are below.

CAMPAIGN DETAILS:

Purpose: 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.

Strategy: 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, Paraná, 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 commercialize Terminator until governments prohibit the
technology.

Origins: The Ban Terminator Campaign was initiated in response to
recent efforts by governments and corporations to push for Terminator
field trials and commercialization. Despite widespread opposition, in
February 2005, the Canadian government attempted to overturn the CBD’s
international de facto moratorium on Terminator technology. The Ban
Terminator Campaign was formed in response, following discussions
initiated by Canadian-based civil society organizations (ETC group,
Inter Pares, National Farmers Union, and USC Canada).

History: In 1998, ETC group (then RAFI) discovered Terminator patents.
In 1999, in response to the avalanche of public opposition, two of the
world’s largest seed and agrochemical corporations, Monsanto and
AstraZeneca (now Syngenta), publicly vowed not to commercialize
Terminator seeds. In 2000, the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity adopted a de facto moratorium on Terminator seeds. As a
result, many people believed that the crisis had passed, and the issue
faded from public view. Unfortunately, Terminator is still being
developed and is now being heavily promoted.

Structure:

The Ban Terminator Campaign’s steering committee:

AS-PTA - Assessoria e Serviços a Projectos em Agricultura Alternativa
www.aspta.org.br
ETC Group - Action group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration
www.etcgroup.org
GRAIN www.grain.org
Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism www.ipcb.org
ITDG - Intermediate Technology Development Group www.itdg.org
Pesticide Action Network – Asia and the Pacific www.panap.net
Third World Network www.twnside.org.sg www.biosafety-info.net
Via Campesina www.viacampesina.org

Contact Us:

Ban Terminator Campaign
 contact@banterminator.org
www.banterminator.org
431 Gilmour Street, Second Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K2P 0R5
Phone: 1 613 241 2267
Fax: 1 613 241 2506