Terminator Technology

Unfortunately, Terminator technology is not yesterday’s news – it is a serious and immediate threat to crop diversity and food sovereignty worldwide. Governments are drafting proposals to permit the field-testing and commercialization of Terminator seeds. The International Seed Federation now openly endorses Terminator and is working hand-in-hand with industry-friendly governments to dismantle the United Nations’ de facto moratorium. An all-out ban is the only defense against suicide seeds.

Why is Terminator a Problem?
Why is it a problem? Over 1.4 billion people, primarily small-scale farming families in the developing world, depend on farm-saved seed as their primary seed source. Terminator seeds will force dependence on external seed sources and disrupt local and indigenous peoples’ seed exchange practices as well as the age-old practice of farmer selection and breeding – the foundation for local seed security. If Terminator is commercialized, seed sterility will likely be incorporated in all genetically modified plants. That’s because seed sterility secures a much stronger monopoly than patents; unlike patents, there’s no expiration date, no exemption for plant breeders, and no need for lawyers.

Who Holds Patents on Terminator?
The US Department of Agriculture and Delta & Pine Land, the world’s 7th largest seed company, jointly hold three patents on Terminator technology. Syngenta, DuPont, BASF and Monsanto are among the other multinational companies that have won patents. Syngenta won its most recent US patent on Terminator technology in March 2004. A Delta & Pine Land representative is now traveling worldwide to promote his company’s Terminator technology.

Terminator Technology: Suicide Seeds Are Back!

Terminator is NOT a Biosafety Issue:
The multinational seed industry is waging a public relations campaign to promote Terminator technology as a mechanism for containing unwanted gene flow from genetically modified (GM) plants (particularly from new products being developed like GM trees and plants modified to produce drugs and industrial chemicals). Industry argues that engineered sterility offers a built-in safety feature for GM plants because if genes from a Terminator crop cross-pollinate with related plants nearby, the seed produced from unwanted pollination will be sterile – it will not germinate. Escaped genes from GM plants are causing genetic contamination and pose threats to agricultural biodiversity and the livelihoods of farmers – especially in centers of crop genetic diversity. For example, studies confirm that DNA from GM maize has contaminated traditional maize grown by indigenous farmers in Mexico.

The very companies whose GM seeds are causing unwanted contamination are now suggesting that society accept a new and untested technology to contain genetic pollution. If GM seeds are unsafe they should not be used. Most importantly, food security for small-scale farmers must not be sacrificed to solve the industry’s genetic pollution problem.

What Impact will Terminator Seeds have on Small-Scale Farmers?
Genetically modified Terminator seeds are not relevant to the needs of small-scale farmers, but that does not mean farmers will not find Terminator seeds in their fields if they are commercialized. If imported grain contains Terminator genes and farmers unknowingly plant it as seed, it would not germinate. Similarly, farmers who depend on humanitarian food aid risk devastating crop loss if they unknowingly use food aid grain containing Terminator genes as seed.

International Moratorium Under Attack : In 2000 the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recommended that governments not field-test or commercialize genetic seed sterilization technologies – thus creating a de facto international moratorium. Many governments, indigenous peoples and civil society organizations have repeatedly called for the CBD to ban Terminator technology because it threatens biodiversity, indigenous knowledge systems, small-scale farmers and global food security. But when the scientific advisory body to the CBD met in February 2005 in Bangkok , industry and allied governments almost succeeded in overturning the existing moratorium. A leaked memo revealed that the Canadian government was prepared to introduce language allowing for field-testing and commercialization. Disaster was averted due to interventions by many governments but the moratorium on Terminator is now under attack.

National Bans: Campaigning for national bans on Terminator is critical — and there are important precedents. In 2005 the government of Brazil passed a law that prohibits the use, sale, registration, patenting and licensing of Terminator technology. The Indian government banned the registration of Terminator seeds in 2001. Local, national and regional campaigns to ban Terminator will also encourage governments to work for an international ban.

Ban at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity: 23-27 January 2006 the CBD’s Working Group on Article 8(j) will meet in Spain and recommend action on Terminator to the biennial CBD meeting (COP8) in Brazil, March 20-31 2006, where governments will have an opportunity to ban Terminator once and for all.

Join the new Ban Terminator Campaign:Outraged and alarmed by the Canadian government’s attempt to push Terminator, Canadian-based groups (ETC Group, Inter Pares, National Farmers Union, USC Canada) are nowasking you to join them in forming a new international Ban Terminator Campaign.

Campaign: contact@banterminator.org
Information on Terminator: www.etcgroup.org