ACT Special Feature: New ACT policy on genetically modified organisms

ACT Special Feature

ACT International adopts policy on the use of genetically modified organisms in emergencies

ACT's new policy on the use of genetically modified organisms in emergencies

Geneva, June 27, 2006--The debate over genetically modified organisms, or GMOs as they are also known, is one of the most polarising and controversial flash points related to food supply and its impact on social, economic, cultural and environmental welfare, often triggering passionate responses.

Add the humanitarian imperative in disaster response to the discussion, and you end up with a double-edged sword: the non-acceptance of genetically modified food can lead to a deepening crisis, with more deaths as a result, but at the same time, accepting these foods can lead to changes in agricultural practices, pollute the environment and damage local food grain varieties.

In April this year, the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International took a stand on the issue, adopting a policy on genetically modified organisms to guide its members when responding to humanitarian disasters.

“As the debate continues on the harmful effects of GMOs, the ACT alliance could not just sit and watch from the sidelines without producing a policy to protect our food beneficiaries in emergencies,” says John Nduna, director of ACT International.

Read full news release

Links to information from ACT members on GMOs

(Other ACT members may have written policies and information that is not available on their Web sites.)

DanChurchAid: "Trends in technology and policies"
U.K.-based Christian Aid:
- "The Biosafety Protocol - controlling trade in GMOs," a policy briefing/position paper
  The Biosafety Protocol is an agreement on rules to govern international trade in Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) . It is the result of more than seven years of negotiations between governments and was finally agreed in Montreal, Canada, at the end of January 2000. Christian Aid, WDM, and many others, had been calling for a strong biosafety protocol which would fully safeguard the rights of developing countries to control the import of GMOs and their products. The protocol as finally agreed has both important strengths but also significant unresolved issues and areas of weakness.

"Biotechnology and genetically modified organisms," an international policy briefing
"Christian Aid and the GM crops debate"

United Church of Canada
- General Council sets principles for genetically modified food (2003)
- Genetically Modified Food Policy Development Process
U.S.-based Presbyterian Disaster Assistance:
- What Does God Require of Us? A Declaration for Just Trade in the Service of An Economy Of Life (*PDF file)
- "We are what we eat," a report approved by the 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 2002 (*PDF file)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
Genetically Modified Organisms in the Food Supply, a resolution passed by the Church Council in fall 2004 (social policy action).
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a founding member of ACT:
The World Council of Churches, a founding member of ACT:
- Food is Life: The Right to Food is not Negotiable,
  a statement from a South African Council of Churches consultation on GMOs in 2004
- What Does God Require of Us? A Declaration for Just Trade in the Service of An Economy Of Life (January 2004)

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