www.checkbiotech.org ; www.czu.cz ; www.raupp.info

Many Swiss Scientists are worried about the unscientific attitude of the
Swiss Farmers? Association and several Development Agencies and
Environmental Groups, March 2006.

Numerous university scientists are irritated and worried about a new fear
campaign launched by farmers, developmental agencies and environmental
groups against agricultural biotechnology. At the centre of the debate is
the so called Terminator Technology, which makes it possible to breed plants
with sterile seeds.

This technology solves one of the central problems of biosafety when
responsibly applied.

The so called Terminator Technology (TT) prevents the spontaneous
germination of seeds. This has the potential to create a highly efficient
biosafety system which would prevent the unintended dispersal of genetically
modified (GM) crops through lost seeds or outcrossing.

By this application one of the central arguments put forward against GM
crops would be invalidated. TT could allow the easy co-existence of GM crops
with conventional farming systems and thereby create the free choice often
demanded by the public as well as farmers and consumers.

However, this technology has not been studied sufficiently. From its
inception onwards, ten years ago, it was criticized in a polemical manner
with mistaken economic arguments, despite its potential contribution to
biosafety. Farmers are free to choose the most appropriate seed to operate
their farms optimally. In a free market no farm manager is forced to use GM
seeds or TT, if it does not provide him with a profit. The public polemic in
this field has prevented extensive and efficient research. As a consequence,
TT has not yet established itself. So far there is not even a functional
TT-system available to be investigated.

We believe that all methods of plant breeding should be studied step by step
and their potential applications evaluated, before one can rationally decide
on bans of potential abuses. The step by step procedure of worldwide
releases of GM crops allows for enough opportunities to prevent widespread
releases, as soon as there is any indication of potential misuse. For this
no preventative bans are needed.

The argument does not convince that TT is a novel immoral method to enslave
farmers. Agricultural systems, in which farmers cannot sow seeds saved from
their own past harvest, have existed for a long time on farms in the
industrialized countries; this has not led to dependency or impoverishment
of farmers. This applies for instance to hybrid maize which rapidly loses
its yield advantage if saved seeds are used. Today?s agricultural problems
lie in very different areas.

Switzerland ? a country without natural resources ? lives on its innovative
potential, its ability to develop and test new technologies. In the plant
sciences, Switzerland has a good international reputation.

The new Swiss National Research Program 59 (Benefits and Risks of GM crops)
will contribute to this good reputation. Arbitrary and scientifically
unfounded arguments, put forward by NGOs and possibly repeated by
governments delegations, do not contribute to the reputation of the country
abroad.

Recently, several countries that deal rationally with this new technology
like Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom have come out
against a ban on Terminator Technology and argue for a case by case decision
on its application. This procedure is anyway planned for any release of GM
crops.

The association ?Forschung für Leben? strives to inform the public on aims,
results and the significance of the biological and medical research,
including genetic research, animal experimentation, research in agriculture
as well as to create the foundation for an ethical debate in the concerned
areas involved (www.forschung-leben.ch).

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