>BELOW IS A MESSAGE FROM DR. MAE WAN HO -
>
>If would like to sign on - please email her directly:
>*****************************************************
>
>at M.W.Ho (Maewan Ho) <M.W.Ho@open.ac.uk>
>
>Dear friend,
>I should have sent this from San Francisco right after the State of the
>World Forum (Nov. 4-9, 1997, San Francisco), where Brian Goodwin, myself,
>Fritjof Capra and Ervin Laszlo drafted the following statement calling for
>and end to patents on life and a moratorium on commercial releases of Genetic Engineering products pending a public enquiry.
>
>We already have about 25 signatures and will be collecting more. Could you
>please pass this on to others in your network? It would be great if you
>can collect more signatures too. Or ask them to send their details to me
>directly. Here is the statement:
>
>.................
>
State of the World Forum
Statement on Life and Evolution: Life is an intimate web of relations that evolves in its own right, interfacing and integrating its myriad diverse elements. The complexity and interdependence of all forms of life have the consequence that the process of evolution cannot be controlled, though it can be influenced. It involves an unpredictable creative unfolding that calls for sensitive participation from all the players, particularly from the youngest, most recent arrivals, human beings.
Life must not be treated as a commodity that can be owned, in whole or in part, by anyone, including those who wish to manipulate it in order to design new life forms for human convenience and profit. There should be no patents on organisms or their parts. We must also recognize the potential dangers of genetic engineering to health and biodiversity, and the ethical problems it poses for our responsibilities to life. We propose a moratorium on commercial releases of genetically engineered products and a comprehensive public enquiry into the legitimate and safe uses of genetic engineering. This enquiry should take account of the precautionary principle as a criterion of sensitive participation in living processes. Species should be respected for their intrinsic natures and valued for their unique qualities, on which the whole intricate network of life depends.
We recognize the validity of the different ways of knowing that have been developed in different cultures, and the equivalent value of the knowledge gained within these traditions. These add substantially to the set of alternative technologies that can be used for the sustainable use of natural resources that will allow us to preserve the diversity of species and to pass the precious gift of life in all its beauty and creativity to our children and their children, to the next century and beyond.
Among the signatories were: Fritjof Capra, Institute for Ecoliteracy, California, USA Peter Fenwick, Scientific and Medical Network, U.K. Brian Goodwin, Schumacher College, U.K. Mae-Wan Ho, Open University, U.K. Ervin Laszlo, Club of Budapest, Hungary David Lorimer, Scientific and Medical Network, U.K. Richard Strohman, University of California, Berkeley, USA Marilyn Schlitz, Institute of Noetic Sciences, California, USA Peter Saunders, King's College, London, U.K.
...................... If would like to sign on you can email Dr. Maewan Ho at <M.W.Ho@open.ac.uk>
_________________________________________________________ Richard Wolfson, PhD Campaign for Mandatory Labelling and Long-term Testing of all Genetically Engineered Foods Natural Law Party, 500 Wilbrod Street Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 6N2 Tel. 613-565-8517 Fax. 613-565-1596 email: rwolfson@concentric.net
Our website, http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html contains more information on genetic engineering.
To receive regular news on genetic engineering and this campaign, please send an email message with 'subscribe GE' in the subject line to rwolfson@concentric.net To unsubscribe, please send the message 'unsubscribe GE' __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
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