Towards a Regional Platform against Genetic Engineering and Patent On Life

Towards a Regional Platform against Genetic Engineering and Patent On Life
Lo Sze Ping

Asia as GE dumping ground

With the closing of the market in Europe for GE foods and crops and the growing resistance in the Americas (particularly in the US, Canada and Argentina, which are the main GE crops-growing countries), life science transnational corporations (TNCs) are increasingly intensifying their activities in Asia. For instance, Monsanto is pursuing bt-cotton field trial in India and bt-corn field trial in the Philippines. Monsanto has already started the commercial growing of bt-cotton in China. Processed food containing GE ingredients have been found in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Accordingly, there is growing concern in the region from consumers as well as farmers.

In the last two years, there are growing consumer rejections of GE foods in the newly industrialized countries (NICs) in the region, leading to the victories over labelling laws such as Japan and Korea in 2001, and Hong Kong and Taiwan currently drafting its laws. Meanwhile, in developing countries there has been strong farmers' resistance to genetically engineered (GE) crops and patents on life particularly in India, Thailand, and the Philippines. Yet resistance is mostly local and at most national except for the recent long march for biodiversity in Southeast Asia organized by BIOTHAI, MASIPAG, etc. Cross-nation co-operation is far behind the actual transnational corporation activities in the region. Greenpeace China has recently supported the Korean Federation of Greenpeace Environmental Movements (KFEM) in their campaign against Nestle by providing Greenpeace information if a regional movement is to be built. There is also a need to integrate better the diverse concerns of farmers and consumers.

In the context of WTO and its trade liberalisation policy, particularly in terms of liberalising agricultural markets, Asian countries face an imminent threat of being the dumping ground for GE seeds and GE foods. Governments in the region have realised this threat. The signing of the UN Biosafety Protocol in January 2000 empowers national governments to take precautionary measures regarding the trans-boundary movement of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) including seeds. For instance, the Chinese government has stopped three US soy shipments this summer in three Chinese ports to check if they are GE. We can expect more GE shipments in the future given the failure of GE crops and foods in Europe (and increasingly the Americas).

Our Challenges

1. To resist the invasion of GE foods and seeds Utilize EU victories i.e. labelling law and moratorium of commercial releases Utilize Biosafety Protocol and push for national biosafety laws Expose double standards of TNCs e.g. Nestle or Kelloggs Identify regional common target e.g. Nestle Expose GE dumping with shipment actions Counter TNCs' propaganda such as "GE will feed the world" or "Golden rice"
2. To re-emphasize the alternatives to green/gene revolution agriculture Promote ecological/ sustainable agriculture including modern, organic and traditional Generate documentation of traditional/existing sustainable practices in the region Celebrate cultural/ agriculture diversity versus global monoculture of GE crops Re-instate the common heritage of genetic resources and campaign against patent on life

Towards a regional platform against GE & POL

In short, we have an urgent need to build up a better network if NGOs and people's movement in Asia to respond to the invasion of GE seeds and foods. In this process, we will also need to increase our exchange and cooperation with NGOs, farmers and scientists in Europe. In a more practical end, it might be time for a regional meeting on genetic engineering and bringing NGOs and peoples' movements working in the various front together as an initial step to further the building up of a strong anti- GE movement in Asia. The tactical objectives of which can be as follows:

• To foster a regional alliance against genetic engineering (GE) and patenting on life (POL)
• To bring Asian NGOs working on GE from various angles (environment, farmers, consumers, development, women, etc) together to exchange information and share experiences
• To facilitate cross-boundary and/or cross-sector co-operations amongst the participating groups
• To build the organisational and scientific capacity in the region against GE
• To raise national and regional public awareness against GE and POL
• To send the message "Asia do not want GMOs as well" back to Europe and US

Lo Sze Ping, Campaigner, Greenpeace China,
1/f Tung Lee Commercial Building, 95 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan,
Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China,
Tel: (852)2854-8399
Fax: (853)2745-2426
e-mail sze.ping.lo@dialb.greenpeace.org
http://www.greenpeace-china.org.hk/ge