New York
(staat) wil genetische gemanipuleerde motten vrijlaten i.h.k.v.
roofdier bestrijding op koolsoorten………… Dit zonder een diepgaand onderzoek naar de gevolgen die deze genetisch gemanipuleerde motten hebben in het milieu, zoals op andere dieren die deze motten eten……..
Bovendien zullen veel boeren die ecologische gewassen telen, hun certificaat verliezen, doordat het gif waarmee deze manlijke motten, de vrouwelijke motten bij de voortplanting vergiftigen, in het milieu en op plantmateriaal terecht zal komen……
Een diamondback moth of koolmot, zoals wij deze noemen.
Lees het hieronder staande onthutsende bericht, dat ik afgelopen maandag van Beyond
Pesticides ontving. Helaas kunnen wij als niet VS burgers (dat zijn we eigenlijk wel, gezien het beleid van onze opvolgende regeringen, maar dan derderangs burgers) de petitie tegen deze Frankenstein motten niet tekenen. Heb toch de links laten staan voor VS burgers hier of voor het geval u familie, vrienden of bekenden hebt, die wel het VS staatsburgerschap bezitten (wijs hen er a.u.b. op). We zouden wel moeten kunnen tekenen, daar onze aarde maar klein is en we als mensheid met z’n allen verantwoordelijk zijn voor wat er ook op dit soort gebieden gebeurt, zelfs als dit aan de andere kant van de aarde is!
Oppose
Release of Genetically Engineered Moth in NY
Help
stop a dangerous plan hatched in New York to control a caterpillar in
cabbage. Under the plan, up to 10,000 genetically engineered (GE)
male diamondback moths (DBMs) will be released each week during the
cabbage planting cycle (which runs about three to four months).
According to USDA, “The males are genetically engineered with a
lethal gene that they pass on to females when they mate.”
Because
of the widespread release, this plan –a first of its kind in food
crops– will contaminate organic farms with genetically engineered
material. And, this
is all being done based on a cursory environmental assessment,
without an in-depth environmental impact assessment.
This
is an issue that affects all of us –not just New Yorkers–because
the moths do not respect state boundaries, and this action would set
a precedent for other states.
Following
a finding
of no significant impact (FONSI)
by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on
Cornell University’s proposed release, there is an urgent need to
ensure that the state of New York addresses contamination issues that
APHIS failed to consider. At the top of the list is possible
contamination of organic crops, which
could threaten the standing of organic products with consumers and
holds the threat of decertification. Other contamination
concerns are raised by scientists at the Center
for Food Safety, Food
and Water Watch,
and GeneWatch
UK.
The
FONSI absolves APHIS from the duty to perform an in-depth
environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New
York (NOFA-NY) points
out that
this is the first food use of this particular kind of GE technology
–using a genetically engineered male to produce inviable female
offspring— and, as such, deserves the full investigation of an EIS,
rather than the more cursory evaluation of the environmental
assessment that led to the FONSI.
In addition to NEPA, New
York state law requires a state agency to conduct a review under
the State
Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR)
when it uses its “discretionary” authority to approve,
fund, or directly undertake an action that may affect the
environment. In order to release the insects, Cornell must receive a
permit under New York Environmental Conservation Law §11-0507 from
the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), as it
did for the release of caged insects in the past.
However, DEC has
denied responsibility for permitting the action. As a university with
a state extension service, Cornell is subject to SEQR. If Cornell or
DEC does not perform the required EIS, enforcement is up to citizens.
According to the DEC website, “[C]itizens or groups who can
demonstrate that they may be harmed by this failure may take legal
action. . . . Project approvals may be rescinded by a court and a new
review required under SEQR. New York State’s court system has
consistently ruled in favor of strong compliance with the provisions
of SEQR.” NOFA-NY has made a strong showing that organic growers
may be harmed by this release.
Organic
growers may be harmed if the moths escape from the research plots.
The engineered trait is designed to leave behind dead moth larvae and
pupae resulting from the mating of the engineered males with wild
females. These residues, if left on organic crops (cabbage, broccoli,
and other brassica plants), could threaten the standing of organic
products with consumers and threaten decertification. In addition,
there are plausible scenarios that would result in release of viable
DBMs, which could increase damage to crops.
In general, the
environmental assessment performed by APHIS ignored a number of
important issues, including: contamination of crops with GE dead
insects; the impacts on the ecological balance of native brassicas;
the lack of research on the migration of DBMs from site to site;
impacts in the future if engineered DBMs are released in commercial
agriculture; other alternatives besides “no action,” such as the
systems approach used by organic growers; the lack of adequate
monitoring and buffer zones; food safety; impacts on predators;
antibiotic resistance as a result from the use of tetracycline in
breeding the moths; other ecological effects; and movement of the DBM
across international borders.
Voice your opposition to the
release of genetically engineered DBMs to Cornell University (which
proposes to release the moths), DEC (which is responsible for state
permits of releases of wild animals), and Governor Cuomo (who is
responsible for ensuring that state agencies meet their
responsibilities.)