URGENT CALL FOR ACTION - NEW EU SEED LAW
Hello everyone who cares about our seeds and our freedom to use, exchange and sell them.
There is urgent action needed against the upcoming EU seed marketing law. The new regulation will de facto ban old and rare varieties and farmers varieties and stop the exchange and selling of traditional seeds.DG SANCO (the Directorate General of the EU for Sanitary and Consumer affairs) has been working on a proposal for a new regulation for years, driven by lobbying of the globalised agricultural seed industry .The seed industry is pushing the legislation hard, they've spent a lot of money on it.
However, two other EU directorates, DG AGRI (agricultural affairs) and DG ENVI (environmental affairs) both oppose the proposal because it is so bad for agriculture and biodiversity! So DG SANCO is pushing ahead with the new law anyways by putting it directly to the Commission this week.
There is only a little chance to get a majority of commissioners to vote against the current proposal, but we still should try.
Each country of the EU has one commissioner in Brussels, so we need 14 votes against the proposal. The commissioners of DG AGRI and DG ENVI should vote against, so we need 12 more.
Please write to at least the commissioner of your country and convince him/her to vote "NO" on the proposal of DG SANCO on 6th of May.
Try to make a link from his/her department to the seed issue, and try to make clear to him/her that the proposal for a new EU seed legislation will affect the cultural and biodiversity heritage of your country and the freedom of farmers to use the seeds and the varieties they want to.
SAY NO TO PROHIBITION OF SEEDS OF DIVERSITY!
By forcing registration of all varieties of all crop species , the new law will prohibit old, rare and traditional public-domain farm varieties. This will guarantee huge profits for the seed industry but will be a terrible loss to the people of Europe as our agricultural heritage is outlawed overnight!
Please write to your commissioner in Brussels no later than the 28th. He/she has to make a statement on the proposal from 24th of April on, the sooner, the better. On the 6th of May, we must obtain at least 14 objections, otherwise this proposal will become the official proposal.
For background, here are the objections of the european seed-soverignty movement to this stupid new law:
http://saatgutpolitik.arche-noah.at/...fenerbrief.pdf
HOW TO OBJECT? EASY - JUST EMAIL ONE OF THE COMMSSIONERS
You can find the members of the EU Commission listed here http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/index_en.htm
Choose one or more and email them! Each commissioners email will be firstname.lastname@ec.europa.eu
Please ask all or any of them to vote against the new Seed Law when it comes before them on May 6th.
Your email can be very simple. Keep it very short and very polite for most effect. Remember these people are busy running the EU and have not been involved in drafting the law - the situation is not their fault - they just get to vote on it when it is laid before them.
Sourced from http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedlaw.html
This is some of the most crazy and short-sighted legislation I have ever seen - please - if you are in the EU then help us stop this by contacting your EU commissioner.
to ban all traditional vegetable varieties unless registered and licenced!
Hello everyone who cares about our seeds and our freedom to use, exchange and sell them.
There is urgent action needed against the upcoming EU seed marketing law. The new regulation will de facto ban old and rare varieties and farmers varieties and stop the exchange and selling of traditional seeds.DG SANCO (the Directorate General of the EU for Sanitary and Consumer affairs) has been working on a proposal for a new regulation for years, driven by lobbying of the globalised agricultural seed industry .The seed industry is pushing the legislation hard, they've spent a lot of money on it.
However, two other EU directorates, DG AGRI (agricultural affairs) and DG ENVI (environmental affairs) both oppose the proposal because it is so bad for agriculture and biodiversity! So DG SANCO is pushing ahead with the new law anyways by putting it directly to the Commission this week.
There is only a little chance to get a majority of commissioners to vote against the current proposal, but we still should try.
Each country of the EU has one commissioner in Brussels, so we need 14 votes against the proposal. The commissioners of DG AGRI and DG ENVI should vote against, so we need 12 more.
Please write to at least the commissioner of your country and convince him/her to vote "NO" on the proposal of DG SANCO on 6th of May.
Try to make a link from his/her department to the seed issue, and try to make clear to him/her that the proposal for a new EU seed legislation will affect the cultural and biodiversity heritage of your country and the freedom of farmers to use the seeds and the varieties they want to.
SAY NO TO PROHIBITION OF SEEDS OF DIVERSITY!
By forcing registration of all varieties of all crop species , the new law will prohibit old, rare and traditional public-domain farm varieties. This will guarantee huge profits for the seed industry but will be a terrible loss to the people of Europe as our agricultural heritage is outlawed overnight!
Please write to your commissioner in Brussels no later than the 28th. He/she has to make a statement on the proposal from 24th of April on, the sooner, the better. On the 6th of May, we must obtain at least 14 objections, otherwise this proposal will become the official proposal.
For background, here are the objections of the european seed-soverignty movement to this stupid new law:
http://saatgutpolitik.arche-noah.at/...fenerbrief.pdf
HOW TO OBJECT? EASY - JUST EMAIL ONE OF THE COMMSSIONERS
You can find the members of the EU Commission listed here http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/index_en.htm
Choose one or more and email them! Each commissioners email will be firstname.lastname@ec.europa.eu
Please ask all or any of them to vote against the new Seed Law when it comes before them on May 6th.
Your email can be very simple. Keep it very short and very polite for most effect. Remember these people are busy running the EU and have not been involved in drafting the law - the situation is not their fault - they just get to vote on it when it is laid before them.
Sourced from http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedlaw.html
This is some of the most crazy and short-sighted legislation I have ever seen - please - if you are in the EU then help us stop this by contacting your EU commissioner.
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