From: Independent Catholic News
Three widely respected theologians have condemned Terminator technology which produces genetically engineered plants with sterile seeds as “grossly immoral”.
Writing in a new publication, commissioned by Catholic development charity Progressio, Jesuit Priest Roland Lesseps, Father Sean McDonagh and Father Donal Dorr say the controversial GM technology, which is currently restricted by a temporary UN ban, offers “no benefit for farmers and consumers” and would have “long-term consequences for the environment”.
…the theologians warn that the technology could have catastrophic effects on the poorest farmers in the developing world. Presently, 1.4 billion farmers rely on the practice of seed-saving to grow food to feed their families. If Terminator technology is commercialised, farmers’ food security would be under threat. “Since poor farmers cannot afford to buy seed every year, they will go hungry”, writes Roland Lesseps.
The theological argument against Terminator is equally striking, say the report’s authors. “Terminator technology attacks the very principle of life itself”, writes Lesseps. “Destroying the life principle in an organism is not a right relationship with creation which should be received as a gift from God to be shared by all.”
Related: The World According to Monsanto