What you can do

• Sign the Save Our Seeds petition, download a print version of the signature list and distribute it to friends, in your shop, farm, market, office, school or university. There is more information available in the download-centre

• Link Save our Seeds with the web-sites you have access to. A logo in different sizes is available at the download-centre.

• Write to the EU-Commissioners and let them know about your concerns and opposition to labelling thresholds for GMO in seeds.

• Send letters to your local or national newspapers raising the issue. So far this apparently "technical issue" has raised little attention of the media, partly because it sounds a bit complicated and also because seeds are not an especially fancy subject. However seeds are the basis of all our food and that of future generations.

• Write to the ministers responsible in your country (usually the minister for agriculture, but also for consumer protection, environment and for economics) and urge them to stop the proposed GMO-Directive and convert it into a Seed Purity Directive. You may also want to ask about the additional costs arising for farmers, industry and consumers and protest against any hidden subsidies for GMO introduction in food and farming. Ask them for a precise and public answer about how they will instruct their representatives in the Seed Committee to vote on this Directive.

• Call or write to regional, national and European members of Parliament and ask them to take action against the contamination of seeds. 70% of European consumers and farmers don't want to eat or grow GMOs. So their representatives should defend these interests towards their government and the EU. Such a fundamental decision should not be made by technical EU committees but by the representatives of the people.

• Call on your supermarket and the producers of your favourite food brands and ask them how they will guarantee non-GMO products in the future and at what price. They should defend their customers and their own interest against additional costs and problems for non-GM food. If the contamination is not stopped at the source, which are the seeds, it will spread in the food and require costly and cumbersome testing and control.

• Talk to friends and colleagues about this issue, take it to the organisations, parties and associations you may be affiliated with and suggest to take urgent action. Bring up the issue and information at work, if you are employed in any food or farm related company: How would seed contamination affect your business?

• Talk to farmers about this Directive (many of them might never have heard about it) and its impact on their farming practices and business. Ask the farmers unions of your country how they protect their members against the contamination of seeds, and what action is taken by their lobby representatives in Brussels.

• If you are a farmer, but also if you are gardening privately, ask your seed supplier how he will cope with GMO contamination of seeds and how he would guarantee non-GM supply in the future or whether his seeds will also be contaminated.

• Share your experience, information and questions with others in the forum.

• Stay in contact with us and subscribe to the mailing-list for continued information.

• Support the SOS-Initiative by contributing a donation to maintain the work and distribute the information.

• Participate in internet discussion groups of international organisations, national governments, political parties, associations, and companies. For instance:
  
  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
  The forum organised by the FAO Inter-Departmental Working Group on Biotechnology hosts a series of focused, time-limited e-mail conferences concerning biotechnology in food and agriculture for developing countries.
  Everybody that registers as member receives an e-mail with information on timing and topic, and all messages from the conference. The forum is moderated, so messages have to follow the guidelines of the forum to be posted. So far 8 conferences have been completed. The most recent conference ran from 14 June to 15 July 2004.
  
  European Commission Research DG
  The forum of the Research Directorate-General of the European Commission discusses, among other topics, reports and workprogrammes concerning biotechnology. The forum is moderated. Information on the issue and the structure of contributions to the forum is provided for each topic.