Posted by The Watcher on October 17, 2013 in categories Editors' picks, Genetic engineering

Terminator technology, also known as genetic use restriction technology (GURT), is a form of genetic engineering which causes second generation seeds to be sterile, essentially preventing farmers from saving seeds for future planting and rendering them dependent on corporations who control the seeds. The technology was developed through a cooperative research agreement struck in the 1990's between the USDA and Delta and Pine Land company (purchased by Monsanto in 2007). While Monsanto pledged as far back as 1999 it would not commercialize terminator technology, [i] the discovery that some of its field-trialed but unapproved and therefore illegal GMOs have escaped into the wild, only add to growing concerns that it could violate this commitment in the future, either through accident or intention.     

According to the ETC report, Brazil's Judicial Commission (Comissão de Constituição e Justiça e de Cidadania) is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the proposed bill (PL 268/2007) that will allow the use of terminator technology. If the bill is approved, it could quickly come to a vote in Congress and swiftly overturn the ban.  Interviewed in the report was Maria José Guazzelli of Brazil's Centro Ecológico, who stated:

"It's shocking that Brazil is on the verge of reversing its national position on suicide seeds. If the government is at all sincere about its desire to eliminate hunger, it can't allow a law that would ultimately threaten farmers and undermine their ability to grow food. Brazil can't reach a goal of ' Zero Hunger' with Zero Farmers."

The report also discussed the threat such a decision would have on biodiversity, farmer livelihoods and food sovereignty.

"Terminator [technology] would prevent farmers from saving seeds from their harvest and would insure their dependence on multinational firms. At present, 6 multinational (Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dow, Monsanto, DuPont) control 60% of the global commercial seed market and 76% of the agrochemical market.

193 Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity are unequivocal about Terminator, unanimously agreeing on a de facto moratorium in 2000, which was strengthened at the Conference of the Parties in 2006, under the presidency of Brazil.

"If Brazil were to approve this legislation, it would signal a clear intent to violate the international moratorium on Terminator, defying the will of 192 other countries," says Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group's Latin America Director. "Legislators in Brasilia should somberly consider the implications of their actions for their own farmers and the country's biodiversity, but also the implications of becoming a country that violates international agreements."

One of the primary justifications for the reversal of the international moratorium against the use of terminator technology is that it will provide a full-proof stopgap against biopollution that could be caused by so-called 'bioreactor' GM crops designed to produce 'edible vaccines' and human biomolecules (e.g. hormones, antibodies, urine), for medical purposes. As we recently explored in our article "Biotech's Dark Promise: Involuntary Cannabilism for All," the field of 'biopharming' involves the creation of plant 'bioreactors' that contain genes that code for human proteins. Many of these plants are traditionally used as feed or food (i.e. rice, corn), and therefore may inadvertently cross-pollinate plants intended for human consumption. This, of course, would result in humans eating human proteins – the very definition of cannibalism. Given the serious medico-ethical considerations at stake with biopharming, the use of terminator technology would make cross contamination of bioreactor plants with those intended for human consumption theoretically impossible.

Unfortunately, this is a shortsighted solution. And while the ostensible goal is to prevent GM biopollution, the use of GM terminator technology to accomplish this goal is like using 'fire' to put out 'fire.' The most serious concern with GURT or terminator technology is that the genes inserted into plants that render them incapable of producing viable seeds could cross over into other healthy non-GMO organisms, essentially acting like a contraceptive. There has also been concern raised over the possibility that the technology could be weaponized and used to introduce a suicide sequence into plant species or animals, which could be activated by through the use of a triggering substance delivered through air or water. The University of Texas has already experimented with its lethal GRIM system in mammalian cell cultures, ostensibly for non-military purposes. [ii]

There are several forms of genetic use restriction technology, but the most controversial form causes the seed to produce a toxin that kills the seed embryo, preventing its germination. If you consider that such a seed is basically constructed so that it can abort its own embryo, it conjures a disturbing image.  The justification, of course, is for the seed patent holder to protect its 'intellectual property.'  This justification, however, violates the basic impulse of Life itself.

The recent development in Brazil may reveal that, despite the longstanding and unanimous commitment by Biotech companies and world governments alike that terminator technology will not be developed and commercialized, quite the opposite is true. According to a 2006 report, patent statistics clearly show that the world's major Biotech stakeholders in terminator technology have been moving forward all along:

 "R&D concerning V-GURTs and T-GURTs [Terminator technology] has continued since the public announcements were made, and no players actually withdrew any GURTs type patents or patent applications The U.S. Department of Agriculture has refused to withdraw its patent claim on the original terminator technology, and USDA/D&PL have received two new terminator patents and has been testing the technology in laboratory conditions. Experimental terminator tobacco plants have been grown at the USDA lab in Lubbock, Texas. ETC6 found that 43 patents on trait specifics T-GURTs were filed till 2000 (RAFI 2000).... The most recent GURTs type patent we found was published on September 6, 2005, owned by Syngenta (US6,939,711)." [iii]

Quite a lot hinges on Brazil's next move. Stay up-do-date at ETC Group's website. 

 

I will not be afraid of Love today,

for I know it surely has come to stay.

I was always afraid of of Love before,

not knowing who it was knocking at my door.

I was afraid of Love today,not knowing why,

I must have mistaken it for Fear I cry.

I didn't know what it wanted from me,

I thought I could never be a wannabe.

I had cried many a night so alone and sad,

wandering where Love was & what it had.

Why did I rebuke Love and make it go,

was I afraid of it,of what Love dared to show.

Did I mistakenly replace it for Fear,

keeping Love away from coming near.

My father remembers me as the son he Loves,

I will awaken now, as below,so above.

My fathers fame is Love, this I know to be true,

which means I am created in his Love too.

It  is said,Love always Creates like unto itself,

never deviating,bestowing great spiritual wealth.

So the Creator & Love are the same as one,

and that makes us a Divine spark, his son.

Not lost or forgotten, as some would believe,

sleep-walking in a dream, we could not perceive.

Believing to be asleep in the Matrix of a dream,

but awakened by the Joy of Love, it may seem.

For Love is all around us if we open our eyes,

and do not listen to the voice of Fear or its Lies.

Our Love was never lost nor thrown away,

but hidden in a dark space for a rainy day.

Love will shine bright like a sparkling diamond,

if we put our Fear away,remembering we are his son.

Forgiveness is the key to erase Fear forever,

as the light of Love emerges , be afraid never.

Embrace it as the Father embraces the son,

remembering what really matters, we are all one.

So,did I forget who I was and where I came from,

the light of Love shines bright, total of the sum.

Where did my light go, when I refused to let him in,

knowing He waits patiently , for I really had no sin.

It was all a Matrix, mind control of the Dark Cabal,

they did fed off our Fear, confusing us one and all.

The tricksters tried to make us think,Love was Fear,

Keeping us away from the Joy that we wanted so Dear.

And so I laugh now at the programing they had given to us,

did they really think we would not awake and miss the bus.

Ascension is upon us as the light of Love shines bright,

to erase the darkness of Fear all through the long night.

My true identity awakened, abides in you, my Father,

my Holiness remains the light of Heaven forever after.

As the Love of God makes it shine in the infinite heaven,

we are one,shared identity of the light of God, we are forgiven.

I am he that my Father Loves,for his Love is our only source,

and so we offer Blessings to all things and ourselves of course.

His Love is never more to be forgot or swept away under the rug,

Love is in our hearts of hearts so please give everyone a big hug !.

Rev. Joshua Skirvin...10/15/2013; copyrighted for the book ,

Poems, Prayers and Promises for the Golden Age.

Read more: http://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/profiles/blogs/i-will-not-be-afraid-of-love-today-poems-prayers-and-promises#ixzz2i3v0pJEy 
Follow us: AshtarCommandCrew on Facebook[i] "Monsanto ~ Is Monsanto Going to Develop or Sell "Terminator" Seeds?". Monsanto.com. November 3, 2008.

[ii] ETC Group, Traitor Technology, Jan. 1999
[iii] Guanming Shi, Intellectual Property Rights, Genetic Use Restriction Technologies
(GURTs), and Strategic Behavior July, 2006[iii] 

Republished from GreenMedInfo
Written by Sayer Ji