Say no to genetic engineering

A Hani farmer is holding his traditional rice seeds in his hand,
Yunnan Province, China.

Genetic engineering is threatening rice - the world's most important food.

While scientific progress on molecular biology has a great potential to increase our understanding of nature and provide new medical tools, it should not be used as justification to turn the environment into a giant genetic experiment by commercial interests. The biodiversity and environmental integrity of the world's food supply is too important to our survival to be put at risk.

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What's wrong with genetic engineering (GE)?

Genetic engineering enables scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by manipulating genes in a way that does not occurnaturally.

These genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non 'GE' environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way.

Their release is 'genetic pollution' and is a major threat because GMOs cannot be recalled once released into the environment.

Because of commercial interests, the public is being denied theright to know about GE ingredients in the food chain, and therefore losing the right to avoid them despite the presence of labelling laws in certain countries.

Biological diversity must be protected and respected as the global heritage of humankind, and one of our world's fundamental keys to survival. Governments are attempting to address the threat of GE with international regulations such as the Biosafety Protocol.

We believe:

GMOs should not be released into the environment since there is not an adequate scientific understanding of their impact on the environment and human health.

We advocate immediate interim measures such as labelling of GE ingredients, and the segregation of genetically engineered crops and seeds from conventional ones.

We also oppose all patents on plants, animals and humans, as well as patents on their genes. Life is not an industrial commodity. When we force life forms and our world's food supply to conform to human economic models rather than their natural ones, we do so at our own peril.

Find out more:

- Go to the Food section to find out about: labelling legislation for GE products inyour country, how GE crops are used in animal feed and the corporate giants who are trying to control what you eat.

- Go to the Feeding the world - facts versus fiction section: to find out the truth about world hunger and why GE crops will not help.

- Go to the GE agriculture and genetic pollution section to find out about: the dangers of GE agriculture, which crops are currently being developed, genetic pollution and the dangers of patenting life.

- Go to the Biosafety Protocol section to find out about this important legislation that regulates the transboundary movements of GE and who is for and against it.

- Go to the Failings of GE section to find out about how the biotech industry is basing its products on crude and old-fashioned science.

Related Reports

Problems with genetically-engineered crops in the field

26 January 2010

GE (genetically-engineered) crops have repeatedly failed to perform as intended in the field and have given rise to new agronomic problems. Commercialised GE crops depend upon the consistent expression of inserted herbicide resistance and/or toxin genes in order to perform. If these genes do not function as intended, crop losses may result. GE varieties have also demonstrated new susceptibility to pests and diseases, for unknown reasons. Genetically engineering plants to resist insects also has an impact upon pest populations, since troublesome new pests - that require heavy use of insecticides – can emerge as a result.

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Herbicide resistance forces farmers to weed by hand

26 January 2010

After years of very heavy use of the herbicide glyphosate on ‘Roundup Ready‘ GE (genetically-engineered)crops in the US, weeds are developing resistance to the chemical. The rapidly-spreading problem shows how reliance on genetically-engineered herbicide-resistance is a short-sighted strategy that is resulting in more difficult-to-control weeds.

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Genetically-engineered cotton fails to perform in Colombia

26 January 2010

The failure of GE (genetically-engineered) cotton in Colombia deepened already hard times for many farmers in the 2008/2009 growing season. In the field, two new varieties of GE cotton proved disastrous in Cordoba Province, Colombia’s most important cotton-growing region. Farmers there have sued Monsanto, saying it misled them about the varieties, which were reportedly attacked by caterpillars and damaged by herbicides that the plants were supposed to resist.

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Genetically-engineered soya yields less

26 January 2010

Studies demonstrate that Monsanto’s ‘Roundup Ready’ (glyphosate-tolerant) soya has a 5-10% lower harvest compared to modern conventional soya lines. These lower-yielding GE (geneticallyengineered) soya varieties cost farmers billions of dollars every year.

Evidence of lower yields, called ‘yield drag’, is an example of the unpredictability and unintended consequences of GE. Yield drag losses were and remain avoidable through the use of modern conventional varieties.

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Rice producers pay for accidental release of Bayer’s genetically-engineered rice

26 January 2010

In August 2006, rice markets worldwide were rocked by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that the US rice crop had been contaminated by unapproved Bayer GE rice with genetically-engineered herbicide resistance.

A cascade of costly events ensued. The ultimate cost to the US rice industry was between $741 million and $1.29 billion US dollars, plus costs to foreign companies and still-undetermined legal damages against Bayer. The origin of the contamination remains unexplained to this day.

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