10/11/1998 - 2344

Terminator Seed

USA (VNN) - by Makhanchor

I think the devotees might be interested in this,

Thanks Makhanchor

Monsanto in Closed Negotiations with the US Department of Agriculture toFinalize Control of Terminator Technology

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 Monsanto is moving swiftly to finalize its control over
 the Terminator technology. The company may extract an
 exclusive license from the US Department of Agriculture
 (USDA) within weeks. RAFI is initiating an urgent
 internet-based international campaign to stop the USDA -
 Monsanto negotiations before it's too late. A special
 WWW page has been set up at http://www.rafi.org/usda.html
 to enable anyone with internet access to send a customized
 message to the USDA asking it to cease negotiations and
 bury this anti-farmer, anti-biodiversity technology.
 Additional contact details are provided below.
 ----------------------------------------------------------

A Monsanto subsidiary, Delta & Pine Land (D&PL), is currently negotiatingwith the USDA to exclusively license the US Government's interest in thecontroversial Terminator technology patent, a genetic technique thatrenders farm-saved seed sterile. The seed-sterilizing technology -developed with US taxpayer dollars - will prevent farmers from saving seedfrom their harvest, forcing them to return to the commercial seed marketevery year.

The Terminator patent (US # 5,723,765) is jointly owned by D&PL and theUSDA. Under US law, since D&PL worked with USDA to develop the technology,the company has the option to negotiate an exclusive license. Hoping tofind a gullible international public, Monsanto's PR machine in Brussels,New Delhi, Harare, St. Louis, and points in between, are massaging jitterygovernments and publicly trying to distance the company from the Terminatortechnology by referring to it as "conceptual" and "not yet proven." Butthe company's move to negotiate an exclusive license with USDA confirmsthat Monsanto is eager to commercialize Terminator seeds.

Despite international controversy boiling over in at least two UN agenciesrather than engage in public dialog, a leaked internal memo by DeputyAdministrator K. Darwin Murrell reveals that USDA hopes to quietly managecontroversy over the patent. The memo warns USDA employees thatTerminator research is "a sensitive issue that requires an extra level ofreview" to help "avoid potential political and legal pitfalls." But theUSDA insists that the Terminator is a beneficial technology and confirmsthat its scientists are themselves interested in developing the seedsterilizing technique as platform to host a package of "stacked" traits ingenetically engineered plants.

SAY NO TO TERMINATOR!

RAFI invites you to join an international e-mail campaign being initiatedtoday to protest the licensing and commercial development of the Terminatortechnology. RAFI has set up a special web page(http://www.rafi.org/usda.html) that automatically sends a customizede-mail to US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman (also see addressinformation below). We urge you to write to US Department of Agricultureofficials to demand that USDA cease licensing negotiations and abandon allinternational patent applications on a dangerous and immoral technologythat should never see the commercial light of day.

RAFI is urging government institutions to hold public inquiries on thealarming rate of seed industry consolidation, and to take steps tosafeguard - not eliminate - the fundamental right of farmers to save seedand breed crops.

RAFI is also calling for protest over the fact that public research fundswere used to develop a technology that will bring no agronomic benefit tofarmers, and no benefits to consumers. The Terminator technology isdesigned simply to increase seed industry profits by forcing farmers toreturn to the commercial seed market every year.

Global Issue

The potential impact of the Terminator technology goes far beyond USborders. It is an international issue, with global implications. Delta &Pine Land says that it will target the use of Terminator seeds in theSouth, where over 1.4 billion people - primarily poor farmers - depend onfarm-saved seed as their primary seed source. Monsanto, which recentlymerged with American Home Products, is the world's second largest seedcorporation and the number one agrochemical corporation.

The owners of the Terminator patent have indicated that they will apply forpatents in 87 countries worldwide. The patent is pending at the EuropeanPatent Office, in Canada, Australia, Japan and South Africa. USDA should beasked to abandon all international patent applications, and to revokeTerminator patents that have already issued, on the basis of publicmorality as provided in Article 27(2) of GATT TRIPS.

The Terminator technology is the subject of controversy and debateworldwide. For example:

 In May, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on BiologicalDiversity (COP IV) recommended that the precautionary principle be appliedto the Terminator technology. COP IV also directed its scientific body toexamine the technology's impact on farmers and biodiversity. In light ofthe Biodiversity Convention's ongoing assessment, USDA should ceasenegotiations that will lead to its commercial development.

 India's agriculture minister Som Pal told the Indian parliament in Augustthat he has banned the import of seeds containing the terminator genebecause of the potential harm to Indian agriculture.

 By majority vote, the Dutch Parliament recently moved to oppose theEuropean Patent Directive by appealing to the European Court of Justice.The Terminator patent is one of the key issues that prompted the Dutch torenew objections to the Patent Directive that was passed by the EuropeanParliament earier this year.

Negotiations between USDA and Monsanto are now underway, it is important toact now! Stop Monsanto's bid to license and control the dangerousTerminator technology. E-mail messages and/or faxes should be sent to thefollowing USDA officials and members of Congress. To see sample letters,and automatic sending options, go to RAFI's web site:http://www.rafi.org/usda.html

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The Honorable Dan Glickman,
Secretary of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
200-A Whitten Bldg.
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington DC 20250
mailto:agsec@usda.gov
tel: 202 720-3631
fax: 202 720-2166

Dr. Floyd P. Horn, Administrator
USDA Agricultural Research Service
302-A Whitten Building
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington DC 20250
mailto:admars@ars.usda.gov
Tel: 202 720-3656
Fax: 202 720-5427

The Honorable Robert F. Smith, Chair
House Agriculture Committee
1126 Longworth Bldg.
Washington DC 20515-3702
mailto:Bob.smith@mail.house.gov
Tel: 202 225-6730
Fax: 202 225-0917

The Honorable Richard G. Lugar, Chair
Senate Agriculture Committee
306 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington DC 20510-1401
mailto:senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov
Tel: 202 224-4814
Fax: 202 224-1725