Transcript Die Kirche und ihr Geld

Terminator Technology
or: how to create a problem
Sandra Blessin
BUKO Agrar Koordination
Berlin, 22.5.2007
Overview
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Introduction
What is Terminator Technology?
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Definition
How does it work
Impacts and risks
Short history
The ban-terminator activities in
Germany 2005/ 2006
The transcontainer project, COP9 and
possible activities
definition
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Problems:
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no official definition in the CBD text
Different components and aims
German campaign definition:
Terminator Technology is a genetic
modification of organisms which eliminates
or reduces the germination capacity of the
following seed generation. Usually the
terminator gene sequence can be
activated through a on or off mechanism.
definition
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Our definition includes 4 components:
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GMO
Germination reduces or eliminated
Sterile seeds
inducible
CBD: genetic use restriction
technologies (GURTs)
FAO: Biotechnology-based switch
mechanism to restrict the unauthorized
use of genetic material
how does it work?
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The Terminator Technology is basically
a genetically engineered suicide
mechanism that can be triggered on or
off by aspecific outside stimulus (the
inducer). The preferred inducer is
Tetracycline (antibiotic). As the result
the seeds of the next generation will
self destruct by self-poisoning.
Usually there are 3 genes inserted. All
can fail. The reliabilty of the hole
construct is 80 % (estimated by R.
Steinbrecher)
How Terminator works in theory (Overview
apply inducer
b
R
R
molecular
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Scissors
a
for example
Tetracycline,
heat etc.
elimination of
repressor
Scissors
molecular
from Dr. R. Steinbrecher)
toxin
production from
Ribonuclease
Promoter
toxin
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impacts and risks
Reliability for biosafety:
enough for use restriction but as an
affective measure to avoid GMO
contamination not enough
 Use restriction:
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negation of farmers´rights
undermining of food sovereignty
danger for food security
biodiversity loss
short history
1998/1999
international protest against a Terminator patent from
Delta and Pine
2000
De facto moratorium on the COP5 of CBD:
recommendation that ..”products incorporating such
technology should not be approved by parties for
field testing until appropiate scientific data can justify
such testing… „
2005
Canadian Government tries to weaken the
moratorium by stressing biosafety function of
Terminator Technology. They try to get a case by
case assessment
January
2006
Granada: ad-hoc working group on Art. 8j CBD
accept a recommendation paper for Curitiba with
“case by case assessment”
March 2006 Curitiba: A lot of protest (over all the international
Ban Terminator campaign)
Result: The moratorium remains without limitation.
german ban-terminator activities
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www.freie-saat.de (in german)
Initiated in october 2005 by the BUKO Agrar
Koordination
Activities:
 position paper with 35 signing organizations
 Press conference
 Public work: Articles in german newspaper,
TV
 Participation in Granada demonstration
 Handover from 2359 signatures to the
German Parliament
 Action in front of Canadian Embassy
 Lettres to EU members of parliament
 Meeting with the Federal Office of Consumer
Protection and Food Safety (BVL),
institution for GMO authorization because of
“Transcontainer-project”
signing organizations (1)
„Kein Patent auf Leben!“
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Aktion 3. Welt Saar
Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL.)
Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Umweltbeauftragten in der Ev.
Kirche in Deutschland (AGU)
ATTAC
Ausschuss für den Dienst auf dem Lande in der EKD
Bioland
Bonner AK gegen Gentechnologie
Brot für die Welt
BUKO Agrar Koordination
BUKO-Kampagne gegen Biopiraterie
Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND)
Bund Ökologischer Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW)
Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Evangelische Jugend im
ländlichen Raum (BAG ejl)
signing organizations (2)
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Bündnis für die gentechnikfreie Landwirtschaft in
Niedersachsen, Bremen und Hamburg
Bürgerinitiative gentechnikfreies Schleswig-Holstein
Coordination gegen Bayer-Gefahren
Demeter
Dreschflegel e.V.
Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED)
Evangelisches Bildungszentrum Hesselberg
Gen-ethisches Netzwerk
Gentechnikfreie Regionen in Deutschland
Germanwatch
NABU
Naturland
Ökologischer Ärztebund
Ökomarkt
PAN Germany (Pestizid Aktionsnetzwerk)
Share e.V.
Umweltinstitut München
Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt (VEN)
Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft
Handover from 2359 signatures to the German Parliament
press action in front of the Parliament
Other ban-terminator campaigns
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Ban terminator campaign: www.banterminator.org
Spain : Ecologistas en Accion
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
Result of all campaigns
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The CBD moratorium remained in the
COP8 CBD in Curitiba
Two problems:
 Not legally binding
 Call for new scientific research on
Terminator Technology in decision
V/5 Nr. 23 and 25.
„transcontainer“- project
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a EU-wide official project executed by 8
European Member States
Over all: scientific institutions and universities
and two private companies: SweTree
Technologies AB in Sweden (researching with
trees) and the DLF-Trifolium A/S in Denmark
Destination crops: Canola, sugar beet, trees,
aubergine and tomato
Aim: To enhance the acceptance of GMO.
Glasshouse-testing in Sweden an Denmark
Transcontainer-workshop 2008 in Eastern
Europe
Projectpartner
Plant Research International B.V., Wageningen, The Netherlands (coordinator)
Drs. Kim Boutilier and Ruud de Maagd
1.
2.
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
Prof. Ove Nilsson
Research Institute for Vegetable Crops, Montanaso Lombardo, Italy
Dr. Giuseppe Rotino
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Vienna University, Campus Vienna Biocenter, Austria
Prof. Alisher Touraev
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National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland
Prof. Philip J. Dix
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University of Milan, Italy
Prof. Martin Kater
Wageningen University, Netherlands
Dr. Justus Wesseler
Institute of Plant Genetics-Research (CNR-IGV), Perugia, Italy
Dr. Sergio Arcioni
Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Berlin, Germany
Dr. Detlef Bartsch
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University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Prof. Ivan Minkov
Schenkelaars Biotechnology Consultancy, Leiden, The Netherlands
Ir. Piet Schenkelaars
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SweTree Technologies AB, Umeå, Sweden
Dr. Magnus Hertzberg
DLF-TRIFOLIUM A/S, Store Heddinge, Denmark
Dr. Christian Sig Jensen
Fertility confinement of transcontainer
Plant Research International B.V., Wageningen, Netherlands; Dr. Kim Boutilier
Vienna University, Campus Vienna Biocenter, Austria; Prof. Alisher Touraev
University of Milan, Italy; Prof. Martin Kater
Research Institute for Vegetable Crops, Montanaso Lombardo, Italy; Dr. Giuseppe
Rotino
Controllable Fertility Objectives
•To realise a male sterility-based transgene containment system based on
amino acid depletion and complementation in oilseed rape and tomato
•To realise a male sterility-based transgene containment system based on
TAF loss of function and complementation in oilseed rape
•To develop and validate a transgenic containment technique based on the
coupling of parthenocarpy to male sterility in tomato (amino acid depletion)
and eggplant (TAF loss-of-function)·
•To evaluate the potential of restorable male sterility strategies as a tool for
F1 hybrid breeding in oilseed rape and tomato
•To implement the two-component ablation system in grasses in
preparation for a male sterility-based hybrid system in European forage
crops
•To develop a seed lethal transgene containment system based on
Recoverable Block of Function (RBF) in oilseed rape.
COP 9 and possible activities
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Until now nothing on the Agenda; but
new attack from Canada and Australia
probable
Possible activities:
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Take care on the Moratorium
Maybe influence on the Moratorium
excluding the call for scientific research
Watch carefully the „transcontainer“project; side-event on COP 9
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