PAN
joins the struggle against transgenic trees
The Sixth Meeting of the Pesticide Action
Network (PAN) took place in Penang, Malaysia from 28 November
to 3 December 2007. The 25th Anniversary of the foundation of
this Network was celebrated in the same city that saw it come
into being: Penang.
PAN is a network involving over 600
non-governmental organizations, institutions and individuals,
who work in over 90 countries to replace the use of dangerous
pesticides by ecologically and socially just alternatives.
Although when it started out, PAN was
centred on the struggle against the use of agrotoxics, technological
changes brought on a new problem – transgenic crops – an issue
that was incorporated into PAN’s working agenda some time ago.
At this last meeting, PAN also included
in its declaration of principles the issue of genetically modified
trees, thus formally joining opposition to transgenic trees. In
its declaration it set out the need for:
“Creating awareness of the dangers of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and campaigning to stop
the development and use of GMOs in food, agriculture, pharmaceutical
crops and animals, forestry and prevent terminator seeds.
We demand the implementation of the precautionary principle to
prevent the spread of the use of GMOs.”
PAN understands that with the introduction
of this new technology the struggle to make progress in ecological
management and in the elimination of the production, marketing
and use of dangerous pesticides is further hindered, as it is
accompanied by the massive use of agrotoxics and by large monoculture
plantations that are far from being a sustainable model of production
for ensuring the food sovereignty of the people.
The incorporation of transgenic trees
into PAN’s work is a fundamental element in the struggle against
the model imposed by the large transnational companies. In addition
to generating new and unknown risks, transgenic trees exacerbate
the negative impacts of large monoculture tree plantations which
occupy lands previously given over to the production of foodstuffs,
placing them at the service of large transnational corporations.
One of the negative impacts that would
be worsened is linked to the enormous consumption of water of
such plantations, because one of the characteristics to be introduced
is even faster tree growth, implying greater use of water.
However, negative impacts are not only
limited to water, but also involve the flora – as research is
being done on the incorporation of genes making the trees resistant
to weed-killers – and the fauna – with genes providing the trees
with insecticide characteristics.
Finally, genetic manipulation aims at
consolidating and expanding a model of monoculture tree plantations
that has already shown itself to have serious negative social
and environmental impacts all over the world.
Throughout its 25 years of existence,
PAN has achieved many things, but its work is becoming increasingly
complex, as it has to face new challenges imposed by an unsustainable
agricultural and forestry model. The incorporation of PAN
to the campaign against transgenic trees is yet another element
to protect food sovereignty, people’s rights and biodiversity;
in sum, to protect life itself
By Maria Isabel Carcamo,
PAN Uruguay, rapaluy@chasque.net,
www.chasque.net/rapaluy
