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If you receive this message or information about it by e-mail, or find it in a news group, and you are not interested, please forgive us at PSRAST for taking the liberty of trying to distribute this message as widely as possible. We do so due to the importance of the matter, and we have no commercial interest.
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PHYSICIANS AND SCIENTISTS FOR RESPSONSIBLE
APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TEHCHNOLOGY
- A Global Network - _________________________________________________________________________
The world is on the verge of being exposed to a huge avalanche of Genetically Engineered Foods (GEF). These artificially altered foods constitute a potentially serious risk to the health of consumers and to the environment. They will soon become a substantial part of what you eat if this proceeding is not immediately stopped.
With this message that is being spread all over the world in major world languages, we want to alert people, media and governments to the need for an immediate moratorium on the release and sale of these products. The collected signatures on our Declaration below will be presented to national governments, to the Commission and Parliament of the European Union and to the organs of the United Nations including FAO and WHO. The presentation will be accompanied by press releases to all major media.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. You can sign the Declaration quoted below by filling out a form or sending an e-mail to us.
2. You can spread this message to as many people as possible.
3. You can make a valuable contribution to our global campaign by joining our network. It is open to everyone who is concerned about this issue (not only physicians or scientists). No membership fee.
After the Declaration, you will find detailed instructions on how to perform these steps.
If you want to read the Declaration presented below in another language, you will find a number of translations at URL: http://www.psrast.org/translat.htm
DECLARATION
IT IS NOT RIGHT to exploit a technology which may give rise to unexpected substances that may be damaging to Health, before this risk has been carefully investigated.
IT IS NOT RIGHT to exploit a technology that may have irreparable environmental effects before it has been proven that the products do not cause significant harm to the environment.
IT IS NOT RIGHT to expose people and the environment to even the smallest hazard considering that present Genetically Engineered products are of little if any value.
IT IS NOT RIGHT to justify the exploitation of a potentially hazardous technology today because of a scientifically unfounded belief that it might generate useful products in the future.
THEREFORE, we demand a GLOBAL MORATORIUM on the release into the environment of genetically engineered organisms and on the use of Genetically Engineered (GE) foods until sufficient knowledge has been acquired to make it possible to judge if it is justifiable and safe for our Health and the Environment to exploit this technology. This is most urgent as there are reasons to expect potentially serious hazards from the products of Gene Technology.
No so far released products have been properly assessed for safety. Therefore they should be withdrawn with shortest possible delay. Until production and trade will be stopped, we demand MANDATORY LABELING of all foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients.
At the end of this message you will find a SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC FACTS underlying our Declaration.
(1) SIGN THE DECLARATION
You can sign the declaration at our signature register:
(1a) Preferably, go to the URL:
http://www.formsite.com/psrast/form88160131/index.html where you will find a formwhich you can submit.
(1b) If the above URL is not accessible, try
http://www.psrast.org/declsign.htm or http://www.psagef.org/declsign.htm
We would appreciate if you also collect signatures from people without an Internet connection, or who cannot access it presently. For your convenience, we have made a list for collecting signatures that can be downloaded at
http://www.psrast.org/signlist.htm(2) SPREAD THE MESSAGE
Please make this message known to as many people as possible.
Alternatives:
(2a) Send e-mails conveying the following: (You can use your own words.) _________________________________________________________________________
I feel concerned about this Genetic Engineering of Food. I suggest that you too have a look at the message at URL: http://www.psrast.org/emailcmp.htm and follow the instructions given in that message.
_________________________________________________________________________
(2b) (2b) E-mail this very text. You can forward it if you got it this way yourself, but to ensure that you forward an updated version, it is preferable that you copy it in from: URL: http://www.psrast.org/ecpdownl.htm
IMPORTANT: Please use the following heading in the "Subject:" entry of the e-mail message: Warning about Food that is Genetically Engineered from Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology.
Please send this message only to private persons. Don't send it to governmental officials, politicians and media people. If you want to help us inform these people or to contribute to our campaign otherwise, you are most welcome as a member or helper of our global network.
If you want to send this message in another language, you can find some translations at URL:
http://www.psrast.org/ecpdownl.htm . (The number of languages translated will increase.)Technical reminder: You may send a message to many people in one stroke by separating their e-mail addresses by a comma. You can place the addresses in the "To:" field, in the "Cc:" field (carbon copy, visible to all receivers) or in the "Bcc:" field (blind carbon copy, invisible to all receivers). You will find more technical hints in URL
http://www.psrast.org/ecptech.htm .
(3) JOIN OUR NETWORK
Everyone, not only scientists and physicians, can become a member or helper. You don't need to have any qualified knowledge about scientific GE issues to be able to make a valuable contribution. If you are concerned about GEF and feel that you might engage in some practical commission, please consider joining us. Your participation is important, even if you can only devote a few hours a month to this. NO MEMBERSHIP FEE.
To SCIENTISTS: Anyone with a scientific background can make a valuable contribution, not only those dealing with GE-related issues.
STUDENTS are invited to join our Student's division.
To join our Network, please go to URL:
http://www.psrast.org/lmgreg.htm . There you will find more information and a link to our registration form._________________________________________________________________________
APPENDIX
(You can find the same text, but with links to references in addition at URL: http://www.psrast.org/scisum.htm. )
2. ARTIFICIAL INSERTION OF GENES YIELDS UNPREDICTABLE RESULTS.It is presently impossible to guide the insertion of a new gene. But even if the position of gene can be determined afterwards, the knowledge of DNA is far too incomplete to make it possible to predict the effects of an inserted gene in its new environment. (see also #9 below, and "The new understanding of genes at" http://www.psrast.org/newgen.htm ").
3. NEW SUBSTANCES MAY BE GENERATED UNPREDICTABLY because of the artificial insertion of a foreign gene . These may, in the worst case, be toxic, allergenic or otherwise harmful. The knowledge of these risks is very incomplete.
4. NO SAFETY ASSESSMENT METHODS ARE FULLY RELIABLE. More than 10 percent of serious side effects have not been possible to detect in the case of new medical drugs in spite of rigorous safety assessment. The risk of not detecting a hazardous property of a new GE food is probably considerably greater than in the case of drugs.
5. THE PRESENT RULES FOR SAFETY ASSESSMENT ARE SERIOUSLY INADEQUATE. They have explicitly been designed so as to simplify approval procedures. They accept very insensitive safety testing. Therefore there is a considerable risk that foods harmful to Health may pass undetected.
6. THE GE-FOODS DEVELOPED SO FAR ARE OF NO SIGNIFICANT VALUE FOR MANKIND. The products mainly satisfy purely commercial interests.
7. KNOWLEDGE IS VERY INCOMPLETE ABOUT THE ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS of releasing genetically engineered organisms. It has not been scientifically established that GE organisms may not cause environmental harm. Various potential ecological complications have been anticipated by ecological experts. For example, there are many routes for uncontrolled spread of engineered and potentially hazardous genes, including gene transfer by bacteria and viruses. Environmental complications will probably mostly be impossible to repair as the released genes cannot be recalled.
8. NEW AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS VIRUSES MAY EMERGE. It has been experimentally demonstrated that inserted virus genes may unite with genes from infecting viruses (so called recombination). Such new viruses may be more aggressive than the original virus. Viruses may also become less species-specific. For example, a plant virus might become harmful to valuable insects, animals and to man.
9. KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEREDITARY SUBSTANCE, DNA, IS VERY LIMITED. The function of only 3 percent of DNA is known. It is risky to manipulate complicated systems that are incompletely known. Extensive experience from biology, ecology and medicine shows that this may cause serious unexpected problems and disturbances.
10. THE CLAIM THAT GE WILL HELP REDUCE WORLD HUNGER IS NOT SUPPORTED BY SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. Also, it has been demonstrated that the present hunger situation is not due to lack of food but to poverty. Still solution of world hunger has been used as a major justification for exploitation of GE foods.
For more information about facts, please look up the Internet address:
http://www.psrast.org/scisum.htmYou may also want to read "What to believe?
- A personal letter to you who are confused about the GE-food issue". URL: http://www.psrast.org/whatobel.htmTo register as a member and sign the declaration in one stroke go to:
http://www.psrast.org/lmgreg.htmTo only sign the declaration, go to http://www.formsite.com/psrast/form88160131/index.html
or copy the form above and e-mail to us.To distribute this message to others, either forward this one, or preferably, download a fresh copy at:
http://www.psrast.org/ecpdownl.htm .
PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE TO AS MANY
PRIVATE PERSONS AS POSSIBLE
Physicians and Scientists for Responsible
E-mail address for signatures: decl@mbox301.swipnet.se
E-mail address for correspondence: http://www.psrast.org/infomail.htm
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