From: "Richard" (rcarlson@olympus.net)
To: scienceandspirit@sriaurobindocenter-la.com
Subject: "terminator technology"
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2005 21:15:30 +0200

Let
me start by asking anyone who finds reference in Mother’s work to:
seeds, to please let me know. To Continue: here is the Mother on the
vegetable kingdom:

"Those who have studied the vegetable
kingdom in detail are well aware that there is a consciousness there.
For instance plants need sunlight to live - the sun represents the
active energy which makes them grow - .......but even if you put a
flower-pot in a fairly small courtyard surrounded by walls, where the
sun doesn't come, a plant which is normally as high as this (gesture)
becomes as tall as that: it stretches up and makes an effort to find
life. Therefore, there is consciousness, a will to live which is
already manifesting."

Question:
Are there forces directly hostile to vegetal nature? Are insects a manifestation of these forces?

The Mother:
There
do not seem to exist forces consciously and voluntarily hostile to the
vegetal kingdom. Insects do harm because they feed on plants, but in
this way they serve them also: both things are there, good and bad,
without any conscious will. They do good , they do harm without knowing
it.(Flowers and their Messages)

Perhaps however, since Mother
spoke these words the evolution of recent bio-technologies have
facilitated the manifestation of a force which now knowingly threatens
the vegetal kingdom. Unlike various insects and diseases which have
propagated organically, and so can ultimately be balanced within the
feedback loop of nature’s own system of production, the ratiocination
of a will to profit has through the utility of the scientific method
now harnessed the secrets of the DNA of the vegetal realm. The genetic
secrets of plants are being decoded not to marvel at the intelligible
design which is enfolded within the spiritual dimensions of their
cellular depths; an inexhaustible intelligence and morphology of form
which emits a symmetry of eternal rejuvenation, but rather the tearing
of the veil of the genetic integrity of plants, is being undertaken
simply as a means of human (corporate) control over the process of the
production of agriculture.

If we spoke earlier of envisaging an
(supra) ethical stance which Integral Yoga would take via issues of
technologies, especially those which would enable the manipulation of
the life force itself, the advent of the “terminator technology” would
be liable to be its first suspect.

A process by which the life
force of plants “vanishes” in the technological imprint of a will to
profit, which stamps its control mechanism into the very matrix of the
vital being, to sows the seeds of the organism’s own self-destruction,
seems contrary to the spirit of the evolution of consciousness itself.

Below
you will find an article by Dr. Vandana Shiva who explains the
mechanisms both socio-economic and biological by which terminator
technology is being utilized

Terminator Technology: The Genetic Bomb of the Biotech Era
by Dr. Vandana Shiva

A "Genetic Bomb" worse than the Nuclear Bomb.

Terminator
Technology is the name given by RAFI (The Rural Advancement Fund
International) to the genetic engineering technique developed and
patented (Patent No.5,723,765) by U.S.D.A. ( U.S. Department of
Agriculture), and Delta & Pine Land, which was bought by Monsanto
for U.S. $1.8 billion on 11th May 98. The patent is broad and applies
to plants and seeds of all species. The only objective of this
application of genetic engineering is to create sterile seed that
farmers are forced to buy seed every year. It does nothing to enhance
the quality or quantity of food. Its only logic is death and
destruction for the maximisation of profits.

The Terminator
Technology highlights the hazards of genetic engineering and makes the
establishment of biosafety regulations an urgency. It also makes the
democratic control of the emerging technologies an imperative.

The
Terminator Technology reminds us that the nuclear bomb was not the
ultimate expression of human ingenuity dedicated to death and
destruction. The human mind has capacity to go beyond the nuclear bombs
and create the equivalent of genetic bombs.

Camilla Montecinos
has called the Terminator the "neutron bomb" of agriculture. The
genetic bomb is more dangerous because unlike the nuclear bomb it will
be used not just in war time but on a daily basis in peace time as part
of the process of food production. It is also more dangerous because
the hazards it unleashes multiply and grow and cannot be stopped since
`genetic bombs’ like the Terminator work through living systems which
regenerate and multiply. The Terminator will kill silently and
invisibly without the drama of flames and mushroom clouds.

Monsanto’s Black "Prophecy"

When
news of the Terminator patent spread around the world, there was
worldwide outcry against it because the patent is based on the evil
intent of the termination of germination, hence the termination of
life’s regenerative capacity. Prime Minister Shri Vajpayee announced
India would never allow such a destructive technology into the country.
Dr. Paroda, Director General, ICAR and the scientific community
condemned it. Dr. Manju Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and
Technology called for a ban. In the face of criticism the patented
technique for the termination of germination which is already at the
product development stage was rapidly transformed into a concept and
Monsanto started the propaganda that it merely had a "conceptual
patent".

This concept of a "conceptual patent" was repeated by
the Union Minister of Agriculture, Shri Sompal, at a Panel Discussion
on Trade and Agriculture organised by India International Centre and
the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology at India
International Centre, New Delhi on 3 Aug 98. When it was clarified that
patents are not given for concepts and ideas but for proven techniques,
inventions and methods, Monsanto’s description of the patent
immediately went through another mutation.

Through the
Business Standard ("Monsanto Says Terminator Gene Does Not Exist", 4
Aug 98), Monsanto announced that what it had was a "prophetic patent".
This is patently absurd since patent offices do not entertain
prophecies. In any case, even as a prophecy, the death of life through
the termination of germination is a black prophecy.

Monsanto’s Triple Totalitarianism

The Terminator is the third level of Monsanto’s emerging totalitarian control over global agriculture and the world food system.

The
first level of Monsanto’s control is based on its acquisition of major
seed corporations across the world. In the last two years Monsanto has
taken over small start-up biotech companies and large seed companies.
These include:

· Agracetus, a subsidiary of W.R. Grace with
species patents on cotton and soybean, acquired by Monsanto for $150
million.

· Calgene, California based plant biotech firm which
launched the `Flavr-Savr’ tomato. Monsanto now has a 54% controlling
interest in it.

· Asgrow seed, bought by Monsanto for $240 million.

· Delta and Pine Land for $1.82 billion

· Holden, bought by Monsanto for $1.02 million

· Cargill seeds for $1.4 billion

· 20% stake in MAHYCO, India’s largest seed company

· Unilever’s European wheat breeding business (Plant Breeding International Cambridge) for $525m

· Brazilian Seed Company, Sementes Agroceres

Through
these acquisitons Monsanto has monopoly control over food and fibre.
Delta and Pine Land had 73% of the cotton seed market with its
purchase. Monsanto now controls 85% of the U.S. cotton seed market and
is moving to a dominant position in cotton seed markets in Australia,
Mexico, China, Argentina and South Africa. Through its purchase of
Calgene it owns the broad species patent on cotton.

Monsanto
is also a major power in the maize seed market. It has brought Cargill,
Dekalb & Holden which brings it to the dominant share in maize.
Monsanto also controls soya bean production, both through its broad
patents and its acquisitions.

In addition to monopoly control
through patents, and monopoly ownership of the seed industry, Monsanto
is seeking to establish its totalitarian empire over agriculture
through the Terminator Technology.

What is the Terminator Technology?

The
terminator technology is an "invention" which genetically engineers
crops to kill their own seeds in the second generation, thus forcing
farmers to buy seed every year, through which Monsanto creates a
coercive market.

In an occasional paper of the Edmonds
Institute, Dr. Martha Crouch, a leading genetic engineer who had worked
in the early stages of the development of the terminator technology but
who left genetic engineering because of its high social and ecological
costs has described how the Terminator terminates.

The Terminator system has three systems.

1. A gene for a toxin that will kill the seed late in development, but that will not kill any other part of the plant.

2.
A method for allowing a plant breeder to grow 8 several generations of
cotton plants, already genetically-engineered to contain the
seed-specific toxin gene, without any seeds dying. This is required to
produce enough seeds to sell for farmers to plant.

3. A method
for activating the engineered seed-specific toxin gene after the farmer
plants the seeds, so that the farmer’s second generation will be
killed.

These three tasks are accomplished by engineering a
series of genes, which are all transferred permanently to the plant, so
that they are passed on via the normal reproduction of the plant.

The
plant grows normally from germination, through growth of stems, leaves,
roots and all the way through flower formation, pollination and most of
seed development. Then on cue, the Terminator produces a lethal dose of
toxin to kill the embryo. The next generation seed would thus be killed.

Why the Terminator should be terminated

The
techniques and concepts and the prophecy of the terminator need to be
terminated immediately worldwide because of its ethical,
socio-economic, ecological and health consequences.

Ethical Impact

Respect
for life requires the continuity of life. Saving seed is still the
highest ethical duty of peasant farmers across the world.

When
we sow seed, we pray, "May this seed be exhaustless". The Terminator
embodies a prayer, "May this seed be terminated". The Terminator is the
ultimate recipe for ecocide and a war against other species.

Socio-Economic Impact

The
Terminator is a technological instrument of market totalitarianism
which coerces the farmer to buy seed every year. It is thus creates a
market for seed through force. The financial burden on poor peasants
due to forced seed purchase every year will create even higher levels
of indebtedness for farmers and hence even higher rates of farmers
suicides than we have witnessed this year.

Ecological Impact

Genetic
pollution is a major problem related to genetic engineering. The
Terminator trait can be transferred to related plants and crops through
pollination. As Martha Crouch has said, "every pollen grain will carry
a ready-to-act toxin gene. If the Terminator crop is next to a field
planted in a normal variety, and pollen is taken by insects or the wind
to that field, any eggs fertilized by the Terminator pollen will now
have one toxin gene. It will be activated late in that seed’s
development, and the seed will die. However, it is unlikely that the
person growing the normal variety will be able to tell, because the
seed will probably look normal. Only when that seed is planted, and
doesn’t germinate, will the change become apparent".

Food Safety

The
"lethal genes" used in the Terminator technology will also affect the
food chain since the lethal doses of toxin will remain in seed which
will be used as grain and food by animals and humans. Germination of
foods will become impossible, thus depriving us of healthy and
nutritious foods.

How to Terminate the "Terminator"

The
consequences of Monsanto’s black "prophecy" are too serious to allow
the use of the Terminator Technology in agriculture. What can be done
to terminate the Terminator?

1. Continued citizen pressure
from North & South, from farmers and consumers on Monsanto and the
U.S. D.A. to stop and ban the development this Terminator Technology.

2.
Introduction of strong Biosafety clauses in the Biodiversity law
nationally in accordance with Art. 19.3 of the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) to prevent the commercial application of the Terminator
Technology. The international Biosafety Protocol should also prohibit
technologies like the Terminator.

3. Withdrawal of investments
from Monsanto on ethical grounds. Monsanto should be black listed by
all ethical investment firms on grounds of its "black prophecy" to
Terminate life.

4. Strengthening the sustainable agriculture
movement to strengthen the alternative food system which is based on
living seed, and not cooperate with a food culture that wants to spread
dead seeds merely for market and profit expansion with total
indifference to the right to life of all species and all humans.

- end -