Forcing the Farm
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
How Gene Drive Organisms Could Entrench Industrial Agriculture and Threaten Food Sovereignty
» The letter, signed by food movement leaders around the world
Related Fora:
Recent Content Related to Biodiversity & Cultural Diversity
Over 200 Global Food Movement Leaders and Organizations Reject "Gene Drives"
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
New Report exposes how a controversial genetic forcing technology is targeting the farm
Rome, 16 October 2018 (World Food Day) – Global food movement leaders and organizations representing hundreds of millions of farmers and food workers today set out their clear opposition to “gene drives” – a controversial new genetic forcing technology. Their call for a stop to this technology accompanies a new report, Forcing the Farm, that lifts the lid on how gene drives may harm food and farming systems.
» Download the report (pdf)
Movements of Millions Say No to Gene Drives as Brazil Attempts to Legalize Genetic Extinction Technology
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Regulatory change would spread modified genetic traits to wild organisms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONTREAL, MEXICO CITY, SÃO PAULO, February 22, 2018—The largest rural movements in Brazil, representing well over a million farmers, are protesting a new Brazilian regulation that would allow release of gene drives, the controversial genetic extinction technology, into Brazil’s ecosystems and farms.
Who Will Feed Us? The Industrial Food Chain vs the Peasant Food Web
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
New report from ETC Group tells a shocking tale of two food systems
We are told that it is big agribusiness, with its flashy techno-fixes and financial clout, that will save the world from widespread hunger and malnutrition and help food systems weather the impacts of climate change. However, a new report from ETC Group shows that in fact, it is a diverse network of small-scale producers, dubbed the Peasant Food Web, that feeds 70% of the world, including the most hungry and marginalized people.
Who Will Feed Us?
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
The Peasant Food Web vs. the Industrial Food Chain
(Read the news release about the report launch.)
Who Will Feed Us, now in its third edition, compares the industrial food system with peasant farming. Industrial farming gets all the attention (and most of the land). It accounts for more than 80% of the fossil fuel emissions and uses over 70% of the water supply used in agriculture, but it actually produces only about 30% of the world's food.
Related Fora:
The Wisdom of G.O.A.T.S (Global Overview Assessments of Technological Systems)
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
A Proposed Approach to Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) Governance for Sustainability
In May 2017, ETC Group presented their proposal for a G.O.A.T.S approach to Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) governance at the annual UN STI Forum.
Deere & Co. is becoming ‘Monsanto in a Box’
Submitted by Joana Chelo on
ETC Group’s Year-End Update on Global Agriculture’s Mega-Mergers
OTTAWA, CANADA – ETC Group today released an end-of-year update on the high-profile mergers announced in the agri-inputs industry in 2016. Arguing that the three announced seed/pesticide mega-mergers will only be decided in 2017 and possibly much later, ETC’s new update, entitled “Software vs. Hardware vs. Nowhere,” shows that it is not only the $97 billion per annum seed and crop chemicals market that is at stake in the three announced mergers.
170 Global Groups Call for Moratorium on New Genetic Extinction Technology at UN Convention
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
CANCUN, MEXICO – This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives.
Geoengineering at COP 13 - Convention on Biological Diversity
Submitted by Veronica Villa on
Briefing for Government Delegates
Key points:
• CBD Decision X/33, 8 (w) on geoengineering remains valid and should be affirmed and strengthened.
• The potential impacts of geoengineering on biodiversity have been scarcely studied. Studies and policy recommendations on the impacts on biodiversity and associated livelihoods caused by any geoengineering intervention are, and should remain, under the mandate of CBD and its bodies.
• New research papers continue to demonstrate high risks and uncertainties associated with the full range of geoengineering proposals.
Call for nominations: Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy 2016
Submitted by Trudi Zundel on
Yo ho ho! Who are the most gruesome and despicable biopirates plundering genetic resources in your country? Which corporate crooks are looting indigenous knowledge in your communities? Have any governments failed to ward off marauders, enacted bogus policies, or plotted against their own people? Which gene-jacking genome editors are carrying out dastardly digital theft via your local genome database?
30 Environmental Leaders say 'No!' to Gene Drives in Conservation
Submitted by Anonymous on
Genetic “Extinction” Technology Rejected by International Group of Scientists, Conservationists and Environmental Advocates
OAHU, HAWAI'I — As thousands of government representatives and conservationists convene in Oahu this week for the 2016 World Conservation Congress, international conservation and environmental leaders are raising awareness about the potentially dangerous use of gene drives — a controversial new synthetic biology technology intended to deliberately cause targeted species to become extinct.
Monsanto in retreat: movement from the grassroots
Submitted by Silvia Ribeiro on
Monsanto in retreat: movement from the grassroots
English
Since August 1st, the news is spreading that Monsanto had to abandon the construction of one of the biggest factories in the world for producing transgenic seed that was to be installed in Córdoba, Argentina, in the municipality of Malvinas Argentinas. From there they had planned to distribute seeds to Latin America and beyond. This is an occurrence of enormous importance, that the company has not wanted to admit publicly, because the reason for their exit is the persistent popular resistance from neighbourhoods, youths and mothers, who have blocked the factory since 2013.
Stop The Gene Bomb! ETC Group Comment on NAS Report on Gene Drives
Submitted by Joëlle Deschambault on
First study on gene drive governance avoids the explosive issues: Militarization, Commercialization, Food Security. ETC Group urges that gene drive patents and governance be handed to the United Nations.
Coming in at over 200 pages, today’s National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, 'Gene Drives on the Horizon’ is weighty but disappointing. It fails to properly address three of the most pressing issues raised by the controversial new technology of CRISPR-CAS9 gene drives. Dubbed, the ‘mutagenic chain reaction’ by its inventors, RNA-guided gene drives are a high-leverage synthetic biology technology invented only last year.
The Industrial Food Chain's Recipe for a Box Lunch
Submitted by Joëlle Deschambault on
Who’s going to eat whose lunch … the Hardware Grunts or the Software Gurus? The Battle for the control of agricultural inputs is just beginning.
Briefing Note, May 31st, 2016
Corporate vision of the future of food promoted at the UN
Submitted by Joana Chelo on
More than 100 civil society organizations raise alarm about FAO biotechnology meeting
La Via Campesina, GRAIN and ETC Group
Breaking Bad
Submitted by Joëlle Deschambault on
Big Ag Mega-Mergers in Play; Dow + Dupont in the Pocket? Next: Demonsanto?
December 2015. In this new report, ETC Group examines corporate consolidation in four agricultural input sectors: seeds, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and farm equipment. With combined annual revenue of $385 billion, these companies call the shots. Who will dominate the industrial food chain? And what does it mean for farmers, food sovereignty and climate justice?
Issue
Outsmarting Nature?
Submitted by Joëlle Deschambault on
Synthetic Biology and Climate Smart Agriculture
Many of the world's largest agro-industrial corporations are pushing forward the poorly-defined idea of "Climate-Smart Agriculture"(CSA) to re-market industrial agriculture as 'climate-ready'. This report uncovers how some advocates of CSA are embracing the extreme genetic engineering tools of synthetic biology ("Syn Bio") to develop a set of false solutions to the climate crisis.
The 20-page report includes:
- An overview of the Players lining up behind the “Climate-Smart” brand and the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA).
Monsanto/Syngenta: From Gene Giants to Agribehemoths
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
A proposed merger of seed and pesticide conglomerates portends a new level of monopoly over the first link in the global food chain
If allowed, a proposed merger between two global agribusiness giants could further consolidate the power of a handful of companies over the global food system through seeds, according to a report released by ETC Group today. The results of concentrating control over plant varieties in a few "Gene Giants," the authors say, could have dangerous consequences.
Geoengineering and Climate Change: Implications for Africa
Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on
Some governments are exploring geoengineering as a way to reduce or delay climate change. Geoengineering could technically take climate decisions away from all but the richest countries. Computer models show that stratospheric interventions to reduce sunlight and lower temperatures may benefit some temperate zones but negatively impact Africa with important social and agricultural consequences.
International Tribunal Demands GM Maize Ban in Mexico
Submitted by Veronica Villa on
Calls on UN bodies to take action
The Mexican Chapter of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal has called on the Mexican government to ban the planting of genetically modified (GM) maize in the country. The decision cited the importance of maize as one of three principal staple crops globally, which millions depend on. The Tribunal, which considered evidence gathered over three years from over 1000 organizations on this and other issues, also highlighted the importance of Mexico as the centre of origin of maize globally.
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