************ Statement made by "Future" for her action to remove GM crops in July 2000 at Over Compton, Dorset. In solidarity with future generations who do not have a voice in the present, she refused to give her details to the police, calling herself "for the future". She read out her statement in her police interview. She was one of seven who have been charged with criminal damage. "Future" can be contacted via rowantilly@gn.apc.org ******* "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and the daughters Of life's longing for itself. They come through you, But they are not from you, And though they are with you, They belong not to you. You can give them your love, But not your thoughts. They have their own thoughts. They have their own thoughts. You can house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in a place of tomorrow, Which you cannot visit, Not even in your dreams. You can strive to be like them, But you cannot make them just like you. Strive to be like them, But you cannot make them just like you." Song by Sweet Honey in the Rock based on prose by Kahil Gibran The splitting of the atom heralded the dawning of the nuclear age; the energy unleashed has left in its wake disasters which have threatened all of life on Earth, some of which continue to cause havoc. At the same time, we have seen the devastation wreaked on the Earth's ecology and on human health by the use of chemical cocktails which have polluted the land and water. Now with the splitting of the gene, we are at the brink of the age of virtual nature; the sanctity of life is reduced to market controlled components to be engineered under the direction of corporations to work for profit rather than the greater well-being of humankind. In 1962 Rachel Carson, herself a genetic biologist, blew the whistle on the use of chemical pesticides used for agriculture with her book Silent Spring. In this passage she could almost have been talking about genetic engineering: "Along with the possibility of the extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man's total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm - substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends. Some would-be architects of our future look towards a time when it will be possible to alter the human germ plasm by design. But we may easily be doing so now by inadvertance, for many chemicals, like radiation, bring about gene mutations. It is ironic to think that man might determine his own future by something so seemingly trivial as the choice of an insect spray." Silent Spring was instrumental in the banning of the dangerous pesticide DDT, and has become a classic. It also marked the development of a new ecological consciousness which has firmly established the environment as a central issue of concern. Rachel Carson was the first person I ever heard of who blew the whistle on impending environmental disaster. Karen Silkwood and Judi Bari were both murdered for their part in sounding the alarm. These people acted as custodians of the Earth and held the future for us to inherit. Now it is our turn. We can honour the memory of our ancestors and their good work by holding the future for our children. We are already passing on a legacy of nuclear waste and toxic pollutants. Now we are adding a living, self-replicating pollution in the form of genetically modified (GM) crops, which threatens to close the doors of choice for future generations for ever. We will never be free of the possibility of genetic engineering now that it has been invented. We cannot know what people of the future will do about genetic engineering, whether they will uphold the choices we make. Our responsibility is to choose wisely now and give them the possibility to make a wise choice for the future of their children. I have informed myself of the arguments both for and against genetic engineering by reading widely and consulting with genetic scientists. It is clear to me that GM crops and products represent a real and terrible danger to our health, the environment, to the way our society operates, now, and even more so in the future. I am campaigning against GM crops because of my beliefs, in summary, as follows: - GM crops and products are not wanted in Britain - 77% want a ban on growing GM crops until their impacts have been more fully assessed and 61% of the public do not want to eat GM food (Mori poll, June 1998); - GM crops and products are not necessary - there are better and safer solutions for feeding the world; - GM crops are a threat to the ecological integrity of the environment; - GM crops are a threat to food safety; - GM crops are a threat to food security; - the science on which GM is based is being prematurely applied and abused in its application; - the risks of GM crops are currently being carried solely by the public because biotechnology companies and product retailers refuse to accept liability if something goes wrong; - an agriculture based on GM crops will increase monocultures and intensification of farming, both of which are detrimental to ecology; - since profit is the primary motive of production, then the development of GM crops by corporations is dependent on patenting of genes and plants; this is a further step to disempowering local people, undermining and appropriating local farming knowledge and traditions; - GM crops reduce self determination of the small farmer, especially in industrialising countries, for example, India, Ethiopia, Eastern Europe; - GM crops and products increase dependency on a few large corporations who are accountable only to their shareholders. I believe that the release of GM plants into the environment in test fields or commercial sites is illegal since genetic material can escape into plants belonging to other farmers through cross pollination, horizontal gene transfer or unintended seed dispersal. This means that the government and companies responsible are causing criminal damage to the plants of other farmers and creating a public health risk. It is also quite likely that government safety regulations are being breached since biotechnology companies have been shown to breach them. At the end of this statement I have listed and attached twenty seven articles and briefings which give background information, including scientific papers, which back up my beliefs that the GM maize I will be pulling up on 16 July 2000 is a danger to public health and the environment and is illegal. In the last four years I have campaigned against GM crops, products and the patenting of life - human body parts, animals and plants. I have participated in a total of six actions to decontaminate GM releases. On Sunday 16 July 2000 I will be pulling up as many GM maize plants as possible in the hours of daylight from the farmscale trial site at Silverlake Farm near Over Compton. I will not engage in physical violence or knowingly take part in any action that will cause harm. I will try to create an atmosphere of calm and will treat anyone I encounter with respect. These methods are consistent with my vision of a society which is founded on democracy, social justice and peace. My witness is an active expression of nonviolence: anything which damages the Earth or her inhabitants, disgraces our ancestors or threatens future generations, is inherently violent and should not exist as "property". The safe removal of GM crops is a legitimate step towards preventing the immediate danger from these products in our midst which threaten our health and natural ecology wherever they are grown. I am calling for an immediate five year moratorium on the deliberate release of GM plants in Britain, except for government sponsored ecological, health and safety tests in enclosed systems, and the removal of all GM plants already existing from the environment by government agency, farmers or the biotechnology companies. I hope that others will continue the work of pulling up GM crops. I will be sowing some seeds to celebrate thousands of years of traditional knowledge gained by those who have worked the land to provide generations of people with good wholesome food. It is a call for safe organic farming methods which are accessible to all farmers, not just those who can afford the patent royalties; and safe crops for all people as a basic need which must - and can - be met. Our enjoyment of the diversity of crops produced in Britain over the centuries goes beyond their complex biochemistry. We enjoy crops which ripen through the seasons to grace our tables as part of our seasonal traditions and festivals. I do not want to eat long lasting designer food with prescribed uniform characteristics which gate-crashes our tables at any time of the year without reference to our culture. I take full responsibility for my action. In solidarity with the nameless children of the future, whose possible existence on Earth becomes increasingly uncertain, I will not give my name or address. In being anonymous myself, for a short time, I hope to offer up a challenge for us all to take account of beings in the future who have no voice here in the present. We must listen to what they might say about GM crops here and now threatening their future. They have rights too and by applying the precautionary principle we can give them a voice on the current dangers of GM crops which will change their world for ever, irreversibly. We can protect the integrity and sacredness of life we inherited from our ancestors - so much more than a DNA code - and pass it on to our children in hope that they too will cherish it. For Grace, Harriet and the children of the future. Signed: for the future Date: 15 July 2000 Twenty seven articles and briefings which give background information explaining my beliefs that the GM maize I intend to pull up on 16 July is a danger to public health and is illegal. Women's Environmental Network: The Gene Files Resource and Action Pack containing: 1) Dr. R. A. Steinbrecher: What is Genetic Engineering? March 2000. 2) Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher and Viola Sampson: Gene Foods. May 1999. 3) Dr. Douda Bensasson: Genetic Pollution I (through pollen, seeds, roots, shoots, suckers, runners). December 1999. 4) Dr. Douda Bensasson: Genetic Pollution II (through horizontal gene transfer). March 2000. 5) Helena Paul, Viola Sampson and Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher: The Patenting of Life. March 2000. 6) Dr. R. A. Steinbrecher, V. Sampson, B.Sc., R. Tilly, B.Sc., R. Harbinson, BA.: Gene Tech Trees. November 1999. 7) Viola Sampson, B.Sc., Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher: The Giant Green Salmon ...and other cautionary tales. Selected case studies illustrating the inherent uncertainties and unpredictability of genetic engineering. March 2000. 8) Jules Pretty: Feeding the World? September 1998. 9) Rural Advancement Foundation International: Out of Control. 10) Ricarda A. Steinbrecher and Pat Mooney: Terminator Technology: The threat to world food security. The Ecologist. October 1998. 11) Joyce D'Silva: Genetic Engineering and the Threat to Farm Animals. Earthscan Publications, 1999. 12) David Tilman: The greening of the green revolution. Nature, November 1998. 13) Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher: What is Wrong with Nature? Resurgence, 1998. 14) The Corner House: Food? Health? Hope? Genetic Engineering and World Hunger. October 1998. 15) Dr. Ricarda A. Steinbrecher. Affidavit, June 2000. 16) Paul Johnston, Ruth Stringer, David Santillo and Charles Vyvyan Howard: Hazard, Exposure and Ecological Risk Assessment. From B. Nath, L. Hens, P. Compton and D. Devuyst: Environmental Management in Practice Volume I: Instruments for Environmental Management. Routledge, 1998. 17) Dr. C. V. Howard: Expert evidence re: R v Jacqueline Sheedy and Elizabeth Snook. March 1999. 18) Dr. Susan Mayer: Expert witness statement. March 1999. 19) Prof. Brian Goodwin: Expert report on horizontal gene transfer, March, 1999. 20) Dr. Jean Emberlin, Beverley Adams-Groom B.Sc. and Julie Tidmarsh, B.Sc., National Pollen Research Unit, University College, Worcester: The Dispersal of Maize Pollen Zea mays. A report based on evidence available from publications and internet sites. January 1999. 21) Norman Baker MP with Paul Tyler MP and Colin Breed MP: Genetic Manipulation: The Hidden Revolution. Liberal democrat discussion paper, October 1999. 22) Walter Doerfler, Rainer Schubbert, Hilde Heller, Christina Kammer, Kristina Hilger-Eversheim, Margit Knoblauch and Ralph Remus: Integration of foreign DNA and its consequences in mammalian systems. Trends in Biotechnology, August 1997 (Vol 15). 23) Frank Gebhard and Kornelia Smalla: Transformation of Acinetobacter sp. Strain BD413 by Transgenic Sugar Beet DNA. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 1998. 24) Friends of the Earth: Application for Consent to Release GMO crop plants in accordance with the Simplified Procedure. Release No: 96/R13/6 Sharpes International Seeds Ltd, Glufosinate Tolerant Maize. June 1998. 25) Rural Advancement Foundation International: AgBiotech's Five Jumbo Gene Giants. January 2000. 26) Jules Pretty: Feeding the World: sustainable agriculture and genetic modification. ActionAid, March 2000. 27) Greenpeace: GM on trial. Scientific evidence presented in defence of 28 Greenpeace volunteers on trial for their non-violent removal of a GM maize crop. Signed: for the future Date: 15 July 2000 *********************