Why we should NOT pass Bill C-10 in Canada

For those Canucks who haven't heard about Bill C-10.... it essentially gives the government the power to not fund Canadian movies with "controversial" subject matter.

Yeah. Ok. Censorship much?

GREAT interview by George Stroumboulopoulos here: Charles McVety on The Hour

From the Facebook group: Keep your censoring hands off of Canadian film and TV! No to Bill C-10!

Please concentrate your letter writing/lobbying on
the Senate Commerce, Banking and Trade Committee.

General email:
banking_banques@sen.parl.g

c.ca

General mail:
Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1A 0A4


Here is a list of email addresses of the Standing Committee members:

anguswd@sen.parl.gc.ca, goldsy@sen.parl.gc.ca, bironmi@sen.parl.gc.ca, rokosg@sen.parl.gc.ca, harbm@sen.parl.gc.ca, jaffem@sen.parl.gc.ca, massip@sen.parl.gc.ca, meighen@sen.parl.gc.ca, moorew@sen.parl.gc.ca, ringup@sen.parl.gc.ca, tkachd@sen.parl.gc.ca

Angus, W. David Chair - C - (Alma - Quebec)
Goldstein, Yoine Deputy Chair - Lib. - (Rigaud - Quebec)
Biron, Michel - Lib. - (Mille Isles - Quebec)
Eyton, John Trevor - C - (Ontario)
Harb, Mac - Lib. - (Ontario)
Jaffer, Mobina S.B. - Lib. - (British Columbia)
Massicotte, Paul J. - Lib. - (De Lanaudière - Quebec)
Meighen, Michael A. - C - (St. Marys - Ontario)
Moore, Wilfred P. - Lib. - (Stanhope St. / South Shore - Nova Scotia)
Ringuette, Pierrette - Lib. - (New Brunswick)
Tkachuk, David - C - (Saskatchewan)

Grain Farmer Claims Moral Victory in Seed Battle Against Monsanto

Grain Farmer Claims Moral Victory in Seed Battle Against Monsanto

On The Fire

My lovely and very talented pal Teresa is completing her Masters at Carleton -- working on education and the environment. Her very cool blog is tracking some of the things she's coming across in her research/interest and she's looking for feedback on some of her thesis thoughts...

Check out On The Fire.

Entries of interest:

Vampire Energy/Phantom Load
List of Foods that Contain GMOs (2003)

Terminator Seeds

I've written before about Terminator, or Suicide, Seed technology, but I wanted to include a few more links and facts from a forum I attended here in Ottawa. There were three speakers - Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher of ExoNexus, U.K.; Susan Walsh, Executive Director of USC Canada; and Colleen Ross, Women's President of the National Farmers Union. Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network hosted the evening.

First some notes from Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher's portion:

Genetic Use Restriction Technology (GURTs) is used in Terminator seeds to render them sterile in the second generation (ie. the seeds this plant will produce will be sterile). Terminator seeds DO NOT prevent cross-pollination - or contamination - of other fields/plants. Other problems with transgenes/GURTs:

• By definition, any biological system is not static, but dynamic, it changes.
• Evolution, genetic adaptation, metabolic adaptation
• Mutations (alteration of DNA sequence)
• Gene silencing (epigenetic changes - as a defense mechanism within the seed)

Therefore - no biological system is 100% reliable.

There is insufficient data for assessment of environmental, socio-economic and cultural impacts, as well as economic, legal, societal and food security impacts.

Have we even considered if we NEED this technology?


From Susan Walsh, who presented on Terminator technology and Farmers from the Global South:

• 1.4 billion people are dependent on seeds farmers save (seed banks - both formal and informal)
• Biodiversity is even more important with climate change already showing its head
• To buy new seeds every year the Canadian Wheat industry (85%) would cost US$85 million according to the ETC Group.
• The companies behind Terminator technology say that this is too expensive for farmers in developing countries and therefore wouldn't affect them -- this is not so. Farmers around the world receive seeds via farm aid, food programs, and cross-pollination.

From Colleen Ross' portion on Farming in Canada:

• Not all technologies are good
• We embrace it -- doesn't mean it will embrace us!
• Canola, cotton, corn, and soybeans are often genetically modified
• 85% of farmers have off-however -- this isn't profitable for the farmer, and isn't healthy either
• We're losing 2% of our diversity every year

So -- what can you do to stop this?

• You can take action to Ban Terminator here
• Educate yourself - tell your friends and family. Get a great discussion started with this Seed Map
• Article on Doomsday Seed Vault