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Canada needs to ban Terminator Technology!

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Phone: 613 992 4211

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, The Honourable Gerry Ritz
Phone: 613 995 7080

Dear Prime Minister Harper, I am writing to express my deep concerns about Terminator technology (Genetic Use Restriction Technology or GURTS) and urge you to legislate a ban on this dangerous technology. NDP MP Alex Atamanenko has re-introduced the Private Members Bill - Bill C-353 - to ban the release, sale, importation and use of variety-related genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) in seed. I ask you to support this Bill. Terminator technology – gene seed sterilization technology - has been universally condemned because of its serious potential impacts for farmers, Indigenous peoples, food security and biodiversity. The technology offers no agronomic benefits. Instead, Terminator is designed to maximize industry profits by preventing farmers from saving and re-using harvested seed. The technology threatens the livelihoods of Canadian farmers and the over 1.4 billion people who depend on farm-saved seeds as their primary seed source. Seed and biotechnology corporations are promoting the false argument that Terminator could be used to stop unwanted genetic pollution from industry’s genetically modified crops. However, Terminator technology is too complex and unreliable to prevent the movement of genes. If commercialized under the guise of a “biosafety” tool to prevent gene flow, Terminator genes could actually introduce new biosafety hazards since they can spread to neighbouring crops and wild relatives via pollen in the first generation. The spreading of sterile genes could result in catastrophe for farmers and agricultural biodiversity. Farmers who save and re-plant seeds contaminated by Terminator genes may find that these seeds do not germinate, potentially translating into significant yield losses. There is a strengthened international moratorium on field-testing and commercial use of Terminator due to the seriousness of these concerns. I urge the Conservative Government to respond to the concerns of Canadians and the international community by legislating a ban on Terminator. Please take this step to protect the rights of farmers to save seeds. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Cc: Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, The Honourable Gerry Ritz

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

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