Lectins are used in genetically engineered food that we are eating in the UK right now. Many crops, such as maize for example, have been genetically engineered with the Bt toxin, now understood to be a form of lectin. The effect on the mammalian system would not therefore have been discovered within the present regulatory framework. Over fifty organisations met in Ecuador in January and endorsed the following Declaration, in preparation for the Biosafety Protocol Meeting in Colombia from February 14-23. We reject genetic engineering because it is an ethically questionable technology which violates the integrity of human life, of species which have inhabited our planet for millions of years and of ecosystems.
Genetic engineering is a technology driven by commercial interest.
It is not necessary. It forces us to become dependent on the TNCs which control it, putting our autonomy to take decisions about production systems and food security into real danger. Especially in the field of agriculture, there are traditional and alternative technologies which do not pose such risks and which are compatible with the conservation of biodiversity. Even though genetic engineering shares the same reductionist logic as the Green Revolution, it is radically different from conventional genetic improvement. The deliberate release of transgenic seeds is an extremely grave threat to the countries in our region which are countries of origin or diversity for cultivated plants and their wild relatives, as it could result in dangerous and irreversible forms of genetic pollution.