Return-Path: jham@concentric.net Errors-To: Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 17:28:56 -0500 (EST) X-Sender: jham@pop3.concentric.net To: M.W.Ho@open.ac.uk From: John Hammell Subject: Help End Life Patenting: Sign This Petition Because Some Things ARE Still Sacred. Dr.Mae Wan Ho: My associates and I agree that Life is a commodity that cannot be owned, and I share your opposition to life patenting. It is outrageous that University of Mississippi took out a patent on the herb turmeric. I'm just glad the government of India was able to overturn the patent at the US Patent Office, because turmeric has only been in use for a few thousand years. It is outrageous that PharmaPrint Inc. is trying to get use patents on the world's most popular herbs. A Dutch pharmaceutical company has stolen the herb Periwenkle from the people of Jamaica. The Tan Sheets indicates a growing number of dietary supplement companies are getting use patents and trademarks on herbs. Multinational corporations are patenting seeds, genes, even human umbilical cord cells. Is NOTHING sacred anymore? The Cree Indians have a saying: "Only when the last tree has been cut down, only when the last eagle has vanished from the sky, only when the last fish has been poisoned, will men come to realize... that MONEY cannot be eaten." In addition to signing your petition, I hope more Americans will assist me in getting cosponsors on the Consumer Health Free Speech Act HR 2868- a form letter is in my website. This bill will work directly against the companies that are taking our life patents by removing food from the currently overly broad definition of DRUG, allowing us to make therapeutic claim on dietary supplements. Please add International Advocates for Health Freedom to the list of signataries of your petition. I am forwarding this to more people, as well as to Saul Kent, the Editor of Life Extension Magazine, and thank you for what you are doing. -John Hammell >>Return-Path: >Errors-To: >Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 10:07:32 -0600 >From: Ray & Diane Murray >To: editorial@ultranet.ca, sunspotscotts@msn.com, mcleanj@ibm.net, > davies@escape.ca, jham@concentric.net, Dignazio@icenter.net, > fmartens@pangea.ca >Subject: [Fwd: MESSAGE/RESOLUTION FROM DR. MAE WAN HO] > >This can be signed by all citizens. Please send your support. >Received: from surf.pangea.ca for rmurray > with Cubic Circle's cucipop (v1.14 1997/04/11) Thu Nov 27 13:09:53 1997 >X-From_: rwolfson@concentric.net Thu Nov 27 11:27:21 1997 >Received: from uhura.concentric.net (uhura.concentric.net [206.173.119.93]) > by surf.pangea.ca (8.8.7/8.8.5) with ESMTP id LAA08458 > for ; Thu, 27 Nov 1997 11:27:19 -0600 (CST) >Received: from cliff.concentric.net (cliff [206.173.119.90]) > by uhura.concentric.net (8.8.8/(97/11/17 5.8)) > id MAA16572; Thu, 27 Nov 1997 12:26:15 -0500 (EST) > [1-800-745-2747 The Concentric Network] >Errors-To: >Received: from [206.173.215.39] (ts002d03.ott-cn.concentric.net [206.173.215.39]) > by cliff.concentric.net (8.8.8) > id MAA20531; Thu, 27 Nov 1997 12:17:39 -0500 (EST) >X-Sender: rwolfson@pop3.concentric.net >Message-Id: >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 13:15:18 -0400 >To: info@natural-law.ca >From: Richard Wolfson >Subject: MESSAGE/RESOLUTION FROM DR. MAE WAN HO > >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) > >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 ge >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 Evolutiong 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 > > >_________________________________________________________ >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' >__________________________________________________________ >__________________________________________________________ > > > ****************************************** Donations Needed- Am One Person Working Alone International Advocates for Health Freedom John C. Hammell, Legislative Advocate 2411 Monroe St.#2 Hollywood, FL 33020 USA 800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, FAX 954-929-0507, FAX ON DEMAND 954-927-8795,jham@concentric.net http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html