A invasão que aí vem
No PÚBLICO.pt dá-se conta de uma reportagem da LUSA sobre o protesto dos pequenos produtores da aldeia transmontana de Duas Igrejas contra a nova lei das sementes que está quase a ser aprovada pelo Parlamento Europeu. Falam por todas as sementes, todas as hortas, todos os agricultores e, sobretudo, pela economia e cultura portuguesas. A lei das sementes - que proíbe, regulamentando, a milenária troca de sementes entre produtores - é pior do que uma invasão francesa de Napoleão.
É uma invasão fascista que quer queimar a terra para preparar a incursão das agro-corporações multinacionais (como a gigantesca e sinistra Monsanto) que virão patentear as sementes que são nossas há que séculos, obrigando-nos depois a pagar-lhes direitos de autor, só por serem legalisticamente mais espertos. Pense-se em cada semente como uma palavra da língua portuguesa. Na nova lei colonialista das sementes é como obrigar os portugueses a sofrer a chatice e a despesa de registar tudo o que dizem, burocratizando cada conversa.
Atenção: é o pior ataque à nossa cultura e economia desde que todos nascemos. Querem empobrecer-nos e tornar-nos ainda mais pobres do que somos, roubando-nos as nossas poucas riquezas para podermos passar a ter de comprá-las a empresas multinacionais que se apoderaram delas, legalmente mas sem qualquer mérito, desculpa ou escrutínio.
Revoltemo-nos. Já. Faltam poucos dias antes de ser ter tarde de mais. E para sempre. Acorde.
Revoltemo-nos. Já. Faltam poucos dias antes de ser ter tarde de mais. E para sempre. Acorde.
ALERT: Bad new EU-seed law ahead!
The DG SANCO (Directorate General for Health and Consumers) of the EU-Commission is working on a revision of the EU Seed Laws, currently a series of directives interpreted under national law, to be replaced by a single regulation that will come into force directly in all the 27 EU member states without local interpretation. This would suit the needs of seed multinationals which want uniform laws in all their markets, but would harm the diverse structures of agriculture and the diverse use and production of seeds. If you want to act on behalf of seed-sovereignty, for farmers and seed-savers, you have to become active in the coming months!
Diversity under attack!
The current draft of the proposed regulation, from Nov. 2012, contains some draconian measures for farm-based production seeds, and diversity of plant varieties. Farmers as seed producers would be subject to the same obligations of registration and regulation as multinational seed company operators. Varieties of diversity and old varieties would be endangered, and the free exchange of seeds and other propagation material could effectively be forbidden. If varieties have to be registered and to pass extensive testing, this would put up unreasonably high barriers for farmers, consumers and the diversity in agriculture and horticulture.
The European Seed Association, lobby organisation of the seed multinationals, has two main aims. First to control the niche markets and make them unattractive, and second to register all producers of farm saved seed in order to collect royalties from them. They are also trying to combine the testing and evaluation for plant variety protection (PVP) and the licensing for marketing, and to privatize the entire process. This would hit the small companies and farmers, who would face increasing and unreasonable testing and evaluation costs, for each single variety of seed they wish to use.
What‘s next?
The current draft regulation was written by DG SANCO. Before it becomes an official proposal of the EU-Commission, DG AGRI (Directorate General of Agriculture and Rural Development) and the DG ENVI (Directorate General for the Environment) have to agree to it‘s contents. At the moment there are several points of disagreement.
This opens a window we should use to struggle for more diversity, for open pollinated varieties (versus ”hybrid” varieties), and for more diverse seeds in the hands of farmers, gardeners and seed savers.
Petition: Seed diversity under threat –
Against European seed regulations for the benefit of the seed industry
Esteemed Members of the Commission,
Esteemed Members of the Parliament,
Esteemed Members of the Council!
New seed regulations are currently being drafted in Brussels. If the Directorate General for Health and Consumers’ plans become a reality, more old and rare varieties of fruits, vegetables and grains will disappear from the market. These diverse varieties and varieties adapted to organic agriculture are to be hampered by bureaucracy, while the power of corporate agriculture is further strengthened.
The currently available texts for the new EU seed regulation will promote a concentration of the seed market into the hands of a small number of seed industry corporations. This is unacceptable. A new EU seed regulation must allow diversity varieties, varieties for small-scale farming and ecologically adapted breeding.
Diverse varieties must be available not only in gene banks, but on the open market too, without any bureaucratic restrictions. Therefore we demand: no obligation for registration! Besides this, the current registration criteria must be lowered for varieties suitable for organic farming by virtue of their diversity, so our agriculture remains adaptable to climate change, new pests and diseases, as well as more environmentally friendly lifestyles.
Neither the current EU seed law nor the presently available informally submitted drafts for legal changes to the law fulfil these requirements. They threaten seed diversity and thereby mankind’s common agricultural heritage. They also threaten sustainable food systems and exist only to serve the agrochemical industry.
We urge you, EU Commission, Parliament and Council members, to reject any proposal that does not fulfil the above mentioned criteria!
No more destruction of agricultural and horticultural seed diversity in Europe!
Our demands for a new EU seed law:
•No regulation of seed exchange by seed savers and farmers!
•No mandatory registration or certification for open pollinated varieties!
•No discrimination against organic varieties by standards for registration, certification and plant health!
•Transparency on breeding methods and intellectual property rights (patents and/or plant variety protection) of registered varieties!
•New definition of varieties: not only homogeneous and stable varieties, but also open pollinated, selected from populations!
•No privatization of registration and certification!
Sign up the petition!
https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/seed-diversity-under-threat-no-european-seed-regulations-for-the-benefit-of-the-seed-industry#googtrans(de%7Cen)
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