Welcome to "Save Our Seeds"
‘Save Our Seeds’ (SOS) started as a European initiative in favor of the purity of seeds against genetically modified organisms (GMO) . The initiative was created in 2002 by the Foundation of Future Farming and since then advocates for a zero tolerance for contamination of seeds. Due to new developments in genetic engineering linked to the advent of CRISPR/Cas9, Save Our Seeds enlarged its focus and now also advocates for a GMO free nature.
Hundreds of organizations and some thousand citizens of the EU have become affiliated with Save Our Seeds’ many activities. Its projects strive to keep nature and agriculture free from genetic engineering and promote organic agriculture, biodiversity and food sovereignty.
SOS organizes the yearly GMO Free Regions conference, co-ordinates the European Stop Gene Drive Campaign, the Bantam Mais action and is co-publisher of the Informationsdienst Gentechnik (GE Info Service). SOS was involved in the creation of the Weltagrarbericht (World Agriculture Report) and has shared its findings all over Germany. Together with many other organizations, SOS is responsible for the campaign “Meine Landwirtschaft – Unsere Wahl” (My Agriculture, Our Choice), engaged with the realignment of European agricultural policy after 2013.
With its campaigns and initiatives, SOS networks with different organizations, companies, politicians, scientists, farmers, and interested citizens; and wishes to lead a productive debate towards sustainable change.
300,000 EU citizens call to Stop Gene Drives
Almost 300,000 EU citizens called upon EU environment ministers to demand a global gene drive moratorium at the UN Biodiversity Convention conference in December 2022. Here, the petition with their signatures was handed over to the German Minister of the Environment, Steffi Lemke, in Berlin. Lemke took a clear stance and promised to stand up for the precautionary principle with regard to gene drives at the EU Conference of Ministers of the Environment. She encouraged campaigner Mareike Imken to continue working on the issue, as the debate on the use of gene drives would not end the UN Conference of Parties. Indeed, no reference was made to Gene Drives in the Global Biodiversity Framework, which was agreed in Montreal. And further work on the topic has been referred to q working group.
Read more details in our press release and see our pictures of the petition handover on Twitter.
Majority of European citizens rejects genetic engineering of wild species
Should humanity release genetically engineered gene drive organisms into nature?
An alliance of European NGOs commissioned a representative opinion poll to determine how the European population evaluates gene drive technologyand how well known the issue is.The response of a majority of citizens in eight European countries is: “No, the risks are too high”. This first opinion poll on the subject shows high levels of opposition to (46% - 70%) and very low levels of support for (7% - 16%) the use of gene drive technology in the environment.
The survey of nearly 9,000 people is representative of 280 million EU citizens from eight EU countries. It was commissioned by nine NGOs demanding an informed and inclusive public debate and a global moratorium on the environmental release of this new type of genetically modified organisms. The survey also reveals that a large proportion of respondents were still undecided (14% - 27%) or did not know how to answer (1% - 24%). For more information on gene drives and all other results of the survey, please see the links below.
The Press release of the gene drive survey at EU level
To the full survey with all results here
29.05.2023 | permalink
Australia: An application to field trial GM perennial ryegrass
Perennial ryegrass win!
An application to field trial GM perennial ryegrass as 'more nutritious' animal feed was withdrawn. GeneEthics had told the OGTR the trial could not be contained and more weeds would result. Grown as a pasture and lawn grass the plant is also an aggressive, invasive weed that would spread more widely. If approved, we expected more weedicides would be sprayed, adding to their $5 billion annual cost.
25.05.2023 | permalink
CRISPR mustard greens for the US
Pairwise to sell mustard greens as salad leaves
The biotech company, Pairwise, has announced that it will soon bring mustard greens produced using new genetic engineering (New GE) techniques to the US market. The plants are genetically engineered with the aim of making the leaves less pungent, and the company has also applied for a patent (WO2021030738). According to a 2022 publication, New GE was used to alter 17 genes in the plant genome in parallel.
16.02.2023 | permalink
CEPA (Bill S-5): Enviro Committee reverses Senate decisions on genetic pollution
Unceded Algonquin Territory – Ottawa, ON – February 16, 2023
Today Liberal and Conservative members of the House of Commons Environment Committee voted to remove Senate amendments requiring meaningful public participation in assessments of genetically engineered (GE) animals and an evaluation of whether there is a ‘demonstrable need’ for such an organism.
“We are dismayed that the government and official opposition have blocked strong, clear guidelines for meaningful public participation, which is a foundational part of any review and approval process in a democracy,” says Mark Butler, Senior Advisor with Nature Canada. “We are concerned at the overly pro-industry stance being taken by government MPs, which is not coherent with strong government commitments to protect Nature and the public interest.”
07.02.2023 | permalink
AquaBounty to stop producing GM salmon in Canada, as world’s first GM food animal struggles to find a market
February 7, 2023, Charlottetown. In a major turn-around, the US company AquaBounty says it will stop producing its controversial genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) Atlantic salmon in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada.
“This is a huge victory for everyone in PEI and across Canada who protested against this dangerous technology,” said Sharon Labchuk of the coalition GMO Free PEI. “Genetically modified fish are unnecessary and risky.”
AquaBounty has decided it will no longer produce GM fish in Canada, after rasing just two “cohorts” of its GM salmon at their only Canadian production site, on land at Rollo Bay, PEI. This facility was the world’s first purpose-built GM fish factory. The decision was reported in the seafood industry media SeafoodSource, quoting the company’s CEO, Sylvia Wulf.
19.01.2023 | permalink
VLOG survey: Distinct majority opposes lowering of EU GMO standards
The EU Commission is planning to lower the standards for the approval and labelling of genetically modified plants and food. The German government should not support this, according to a distinct majority in a new VLOG survey.
58 percent of respondents in a representative Civey survey at the beginning of January 2023 opposed the German support for the EU Commission's plans to deregulate genetic engineering, only 25 percent were in favour, and just under 17 percent were undecided.
