STOP MODIFIED BEES

Petition to European and international policy-makers for critical assessment and strict regulation of biotechnologies before any release in nature

Biotechnologies that have been thus far confined to laboratories could be used directly in nature to modify living organisms.

One application being considered is the genetic modification of microorganisms living in bees’ guts to make them produce substances to fight certain parasites or diseases. This would turn bees into pesticide-producing factories.

The modified microorganisms are living organisms: once inside the bees’ bodies, they will be carried to every flower bees visit. Some may multiply, evolve, be transmitted to other pollinators and spread far beyond where they were introduced, making their effects impossible to control.These bacteria are vital to bees. Modifying them could have consequences far beyond the target species, disrupting the complex ecological relationships between pollinators and their environment – relationships that science is only beginning to understand.

We oppose the use of bees, pollinators and ecosystems as a live testing ground for technologies whose effects could be irreversible.

As citizens, we call on European and international policymakers to strictly uphold the precautionary principle before any release of biotechnologies that may affect living organisms.

WE SOLEMNLY CALL FOR:
• Robust scientific evidence prior to any release, and continuous monitoring; no organism should be released into the wild until there is sufficient evidence for a thorough and independent risk assessment. Monitoring must make it possible to detect emerging risks and to evaluate decisions on the best available scientific knowledge.

• Rigorous and appropriate protocols for assessing risks and monitoring impacts. Prior to any authorisation to market or release them, these protocols must take into account the organisms’ ability to persist, multiply, spread and evolve, as well as their effects on other species, their indirect and cumulative effects, and their potential effects across national boundaries

• A regulatory framework based on the impacts on living organisms. Rules and control procedures must be applied according to the characteristics and potential effects of organisms or products. These rules and procedures must not be limited to a list of existing techniques. No new technology should escape assessment and control simply because it does not fit into established categories.

Given the considerable economic interests driving the development of these technologies, we want to ensure that another voice is heard: the voice of citizens, farmers, scientists, doctors and organisations who refuse to allow living organisms to become an open-air laboratory.

A huge THANK YOU for your commitment and support! Thanks to your efforts, we aim to prevent any release into the environment of biotechnologies, before a strong critical risk-assessment and a strict regulation is ensured.

But to stand a better chance of influencing policy-makers, we need as many voices as possible.Please take a few seconds to help us gather thousands more signatures by sharing this petition around you.

Nature is not an open-air laboratory at the service of those who promote genetic engineering in agriculture: once these biotechnologies are released into the environment, there will be no turning back for modified species and living organisms.