SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Florida Keys Residents Resist Controversial GMO Mosquito Trial
"It's about human rights—this can't be pushed down our throats without consent," said one Key West resident.
Aug 15, 2016
Residents of the Florida Keys are up in arms over a plan to release genetically-modified (GM) mosquitoes in the Key Haven neighborhood and are trying to get the word out about the trial, which they say would make them "lab rats" in their own community.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the controversial study by U.K.-firm Oxitec earlier this month, amid renewed fears over mosquito transmission of the Zika virus.
"We need to help educate the public about the very real, scientifically based problems with this genetically modified mosquito release," Mara Daly, who has been helping organize a protest at the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board meeting Tuesday afternoon, told the Miami Herald.
"We will be outside with signs protesting peacefully. I think this will be the opportunity for moms, teachers, nurses to have a voice," Daly continued. "It's to let them know there are concerns from people they have not heard from. Maybe the fat lady has already sung, I don't know."
Residents, like Daly, will have a chance to vote on November 8 on a non-binding referendum on the experiment, which would release anywhere from 20 to 100 GM mosquitoes per person on the island--but the Mosquito Control Board will have the final say, and only three of the five members have vowed to stand by the vote outcome.
"It's about human rights--this can't be pushed down our throats without consent," Key West resident Mila de Mier, who launched a petition against the trial, told the Guardian. Reportedly, local lawns are already peppered with signs that say "no consent."
Indeed, much is at stake. According to the Guardian, "If the trial goes well, the technology would be on track to commercial approval in the United States, opening a slice of the nation's $14bn pest control market to the company. Globally, analysts predict Oxitec's mosquito could bring in up to $400m in annual sales for its parent company, Intrexon."
Although Oxitec has been working on developing the GM pests for over five years, the effort has been buoyed by the recent outbreak of Zika in the state, which as of Friday has had at least 369 confirmed cases.
The company, which has also developed GM species of apples and salmon, has already released the mosquitoes in Brazil, Panama, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands. It has submitted applications to begin additional trials in Sri Lanka and India.
The trial may be "worth a try," resident Andrea Spottswood told the Guardian, but "we don't want to be the lab rats."
Tuesday 's meeting begins at 3 pm at the Mosquito Board building at 503 107th St. in Marathon, Florida.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Residents of the Florida Keys are up in arms over a plan to release genetically-modified (GM) mosquitoes in the Key Haven neighborhood and are trying to get the word out about the trial, which they say would make them "lab rats" in their own community.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the controversial study by U.K.-firm Oxitec earlier this month, amid renewed fears over mosquito transmission of the Zika virus.
"We need to help educate the public about the very real, scientifically based problems with this genetically modified mosquito release," Mara Daly, who has been helping organize a protest at the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board meeting Tuesday afternoon, told the Miami Herald.
"We will be outside with signs protesting peacefully. I think this will be the opportunity for moms, teachers, nurses to have a voice," Daly continued. "It's to let them know there are concerns from people they have not heard from. Maybe the fat lady has already sung, I don't know."
Residents, like Daly, will have a chance to vote on November 8 on a non-binding referendum on the experiment, which would release anywhere from 20 to 100 GM mosquitoes per person on the island--but the Mosquito Control Board will have the final say, and only three of the five members have vowed to stand by the vote outcome.
"It's about human rights--this can't be pushed down our throats without consent," Key West resident Mila de Mier, who launched a petition against the trial, told the Guardian. Reportedly, local lawns are already peppered with signs that say "no consent."
Indeed, much is at stake. According to the Guardian, "If the trial goes well, the technology would be on track to commercial approval in the United States, opening a slice of the nation's $14bn pest control market to the company. Globally, analysts predict Oxitec's mosquito could bring in up to $400m in annual sales for its parent company, Intrexon."
Although Oxitec has been working on developing the GM pests for over five years, the effort has been buoyed by the recent outbreak of Zika in the state, which as of Friday has had at least 369 confirmed cases.
The company, which has also developed GM species of apples and salmon, has already released the mosquitoes in Brazil, Panama, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands. It has submitted applications to begin additional trials in Sri Lanka and India.
The trial may be "worth a try," resident Andrea Spottswood told the Guardian, but "we don't want to be the lab rats."
Tuesday 's meeting begins at 3 pm at the Mosquito Board building at 503 107th St. in Marathon, Florida.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Residents of the Florida Keys are up in arms over a plan to release genetically-modified (GM) mosquitoes in the Key Haven neighborhood and are trying to get the word out about the trial, which they say would make them "lab rats" in their own community.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the controversial study by U.K.-firm Oxitec earlier this month, amid renewed fears over mosquito transmission of the Zika virus.
"We need to help educate the public about the very real, scientifically based problems with this genetically modified mosquito release," Mara Daly, who has been helping organize a protest at the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board meeting Tuesday afternoon, told the Miami Herald.
"We will be outside with signs protesting peacefully. I think this will be the opportunity for moms, teachers, nurses to have a voice," Daly continued. "It's to let them know there are concerns from people they have not heard from. Maybe the fat lady has already sung, I don't know."
Residents, like Daly, will have a chance to vote on November 8 on a non-binding referendum on the experiment, which would release anywhere from 20 to 100 GM mosquitoes per person on the island--but the Mosquito Control Board will have the final say, and only three of the five members have vowed to stand by the vote outcome.
"It's about human rights--this can't be pushed down our throats without consent," Key West resident Mila de Mier, who launched a petition against the trial, told the Guardian. Reportedly, local lawns are already peppered with signs that say "no consent."
Indeed, much is at stake. According to the Guardian, "If the trial goes well, the technology would be on track to commercial approval in the United States, opening a slice of the nation's $14bn pest control market to the company. Globally, analysts predict Oxitec's mosquito could bring in up to $400m in annual sales for its parent company, Intrexon."
Although Oxitec has been working on developing the GM pests for over five years, the effort has been buoyed by the recent outbreak of Zika in the state, which as of Friday has had at least 369 confirmed cases.
The company, which has also developed GM species of apples and salmon, has already released the mosquitoes in Brazil, Panama, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands. It has submitted applications to begin additional trials in Sri Lanka and India.
The trial may be "worth a try," resident Andrea Spottswood told the Guardian, but "we don't want to be the lab rats."
Tuesday 's meeting begins at 3 pm at the Mosquito Board building at 503 107th St. in Marathon, Florida.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.