Organisatie - 12 maart 2009

TRANSGENES IN MAIZE

In Resource 18 of 26th February, the tragic contamination of Mexican landraces of maize with transgenes is presented and discussed. The discussion, however, only focuses on the validity of the research methods used, and concludes that the results have no consequences for the Dutch Coexistence policy.
This decision has been disputed as unacceptable by many groups, in particular by the Organic Agriculture (OA) movement, which is supported and obstructed (OA is GMO-free by definition) at the same time by the same government.
In the realization that contamination cannot be totally prevented, and will occur eventually, and taking into account that accepting 0.9 percent contamination is a political decision based on limited knowledge of the present and future effects of releasing gene technology in the field and the dubious applications we have seen so far, we want to stress that the discussion should focus on whether or not it is acceptable that:
– Concessions are made on experimental market-led interventions in an ecosystem we hardly comprehend;
– Freedom of choice for farmers is violated;
– Freedom of choice for consumers cannot be guaranteed;
– Life itself is being patented and exploited for economic benefit;
– This is the kind of agriculture that is imposed upon us;
– The remaining (agro)-biodiversity is facing its final eradication.