*[Enwl-eng] A recipe for extinction
ENWLine
Hi,
We’ve all thought it: wouldn’t it be nice if mosquitoes just didn’t exist! But the truth is, it wouldn’t. Mosquitoes - like flies, rats and lots of other pests - are a vital part of our ecosystem, the complex web of natural relationships that keeps us all alive, including humans.
But now scientists are developing genetic engineering tools that can wipe out whole species, by ensuring they only have male offspring. It could kill off problematic pests - but it’s too big a risk to take. Species that rely on each other for food or other processes that humans don’t know enough about could be wiped out by accident too.
In the next few weeks, there are vital votes happening in Brussels to decide on the future of this new technology in Europe. We need to convince politicians that it’s not the right time to go ahead with giving this research the green light.
Can you chip in, so we can turn up the pressure on European leaders to put a hold on this new technology, until we have clear evidence that it’s safe?
| I’ll donate €8 |
| I’ll donate €16 |
| I’ll donate €24 |
| I’ll surprise you! |
Right now, experts say that we don’t understand enough about this technology to start using it in the wild. [1] But politicians are coming under pressure from big business, who want to start using this technology outside laboratories. We need to prove that it’s not the right time, and show them that Europeans will support them if they put a stop to testing plans.
We don’t have long. In December, these key votes will go ahead. With support from thousands of WeMove Europe members, we have a plan to make a people-powered case for stopping this dangerous research going ahead without enough evidence of its safety.
First, we’ll pay for polls across Europe, to get ordinary Europeans to share their views with politicians, proving there isn’t public support for the real-world trial. Then we’ll get the issue into the media by bringing huge mosquitoes puppets to the most important research lab in Europe, shining a light on what goes on behind their closed doors.
Can you chip in, so we can make sure our message echoes all over Europe? Each different country costs €2.000 to poll - so it only takes 100 WeMove Europe members donating 20 euros each to add another country to our poll.
| I’ll donate €8 |
| I’ll donate €16 |
| I’ll donate €24 |
| I’ll surprise you! |
Once the polling is done, here’s how we’ll make sure it echoes all over Europe: we’ll go to Europe’s most sophisticated research lab, which is hidden away in a quiet corner in a small town close to Rome. But once we turn up at their door with our polling and a giant mosquito, no-one will be in any doubt about what goes on there, and we’ll call in journalists to make sure they spread the word.
New technology can be a huge gift to society. It can help prevent disease, and ensure that everyone has enough to eat. But it’s vital that science is done safely, not because big research companies can make a fortune by being the first to test new technologies - before we really know they’re safe. And we’re not the only ones who think this: both the European Parliament and a group of European experts are saying the research should be slowed down.
Can you chip in to help make sure we have a people-powered opposition to this risky new science, and put in sensible controls until we know it’s safe?
| I’ll donate €8 |
| I’ll donate €16 |
| I’ll donate €24 |
| I’ll surprise you! |
We know that when the WeMove Europe community works together, we can push European politicians to make good decisions about safe science and technology. We’ve done it on glyphosate. We’ve done it on plastics. Now we need to do it again on gene drive technology.
With hope,
David (London), Olga (Bologna), Marta (Warsaw), and the
entire WeMove Europe team
References:
[1]
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200507094807.htm
WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future generations and the planet.
WeMove Europe SCE mbH | Planufer 91 Berlin | www.wemove.eu | Privacy policy
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