[PASSED] On Genetically Modified Foods

[Mahaj]

Made the edit.

Anything else?

[Mahaj]

And also, is this ready to submit, say, tomorrow?

[Lulzvenia]

Lulzvenia is a cold shit hole where nonmodified crops simply cannot thrive.

OPPOSED

[Astrolinium]

Lulzvenia is a cold shit hole where nonmodified crops simply cannot thrive.

OPPOSED

I OPPOSE YOUR LACK OF ABILITY TO READ.

This does nothing to ban modified crops. It only makes you label them as modified.

[Charlotte Ryberg]

iApprove. Ms. Harper is willing to give its vote in favour if Social Assistance Act gets repealed. Otherwise we can seek dispensation form the Minoan government to vote for.

[Mahaj]

iApprove. Ms. Harper is willing to give its vote in favour if Social Assistance Act gets repealed. Otherwise we can seek dispensation form the Minoan government to vote for.

Thank you so much.

[Mahaj]

With two resolutions ahead in the queue occupying the main conference rooms and the one at vote using The Grand Hall, OGMF was left to a small conference room that could barely hold fifty people. Bhai strode into the room, his aides following behind him. A handful of people were in the room. Bhai walked up to the lectern, tapped the microphone, and then said into it "I am pleased to announce that On Genetically Modified Foods has attained quorum. Thank you to those who approved it, and a big thank you to the Astrolinium delegate for their immense help in campaigning. I yield the floor."

Bhai and one of his aides walked out. The other aid sat down in a chair and waited for someone to speak.

[Charlotte Ryberg]

With two resolutions ahead in the queue occupying the main conference rooms and the one at vote using The Grand Hall, OGMF was left to a small conference room that could barely hold fifty people. Bhai strode into the room, his aides following behind him. A handful of people were in the room. Bhai walked up to the lectern, tapped the microphone, and then said into it "I am pleased to announce that On Genetically Modified Foods has attained quorum. Thank you to those who approved it, and a big thank you to the Astrolinium delegate for their immense help in campaigning. I yield the floor."

Bhai and one of his aides walked out. The other aid sat down in a chair and waited for someone to speak.

Ms. Harper stepped up: "Fantastic. As far as I am concerned we are happy to be in favour and comply with this resolution. Minoa (Charlotte Ryberg) is an ethical nation who is generally aware about what they eat."

[Mahaj]

With two resolutions ahead in the queue occupying the main conference rooms and the one at vote using The Grand Hall, OGMF was left to a small conference room that could barely hold fifty people. Bhai strode into the room, his aides following behind him. A handful of people were in the room. Bhai walked up to the lectern, tapped the microphone, and then said into it "I am pleased to announce that On Genetically Modified Foods has attained quorum. Thank you to those who approved it, and a big thank you to the Astrolinium delegate for their immense help in campaigning. I yield the floor."

Bhai and one of his aides walked out. The other aid sat down in a chair and waited for someone to speak.

Ms. Harper stepped up: "Fantastic. As far as I am concerned we are happy to be in favour and comply with this resolution. Minoa (Charlotte Ryberg) is an ethical nation who is generally aware about what they eat."

The aide stepped up to Ms. Harper as she walked down from the lectern.

"Thank you for your kind words," he said.

[Mahaj]

With the Repeal of Safety in Difficult Times assured, the Grand Hall was emptied of debaters for that and the people interested in 'On Genetically Modified Foods' milled in. Bhai Kha strode in and took his seat in the chair labelled 'Authors chair', on the opposite end of the stage from the Honorable Secretary General Herself, Catherine Gratwick. Bhai was surrounded by his aides. Mr. Varun Vale had even flown in to see the deliberations of the proposal he himself originally drafted. Ms. Gratwick strode up to the lectern.

"Would the Mahaji Ambassador like to give opening remarks at this time?" she inquired. Bhai nodded.

"Very well, then. You have the floor," she replied, and took her seat.

Bhai strode up to the lectern. He adjusted it, then looked out. His voice boomed out throughout the whole hall.

"Thank you so very much for coming here, honorable delegations. We look forward to the upcoming debate, and hope we can pass this resolution. We have worked on this resolution for quite a bit now, so it is with some measure of happiness that we are here today in the grand hall giving opening remarks. However, we know the job is not done, this resolution is to be passed for me to be satisfied. I understand conspiracies may abound, and confusion may lurk, so I shall try and nip those in the bud right now.

The first thing the proposal does is provide a scientific definition of Genetically Modified Foods. We consulted with scientists from all over the globe and decided this would be the best definition to use. We declare that all food crossing international borders be labelled as genetically modified foods. We believe this to be a free trade proposal because labelling can and will eradicate confusion and increase efficiency, a goal of free trade.

We then declare to all that this proposal applies to both Genetically Modified and Genetically Engineered foods, as several delegations provided queries as to this and we obliged with a mention. We followed this up with the Genetically Modified Foods Database, which serves the goal of gathering information and promoting it. Nations will have access to this database, which we believe will prove a huge boon towards a greater understanding of genetically modified foods. And then there's the last clause, which basically encourages you to treat normal food and GM food as the same in terms of trade, minus the labelling.

This resolution does not ban normal food, nor does it ban GM food.

I yield the floor."

[Ardchoilleans]

Horrified by the sight of what had to be an imposter -- she was sure Gratwick was still safely in, ah, protective custody elsewhere -- Dicey Reilly nonetheless turned tail at the door and fled back to her suite, hastily invoking the Preservation and Destruction spell she had set on her very private files in preparation for just such an event. Better safe than very, very sorry.

-- Dicey Reilly, Wrongfully President for Life of Ardchoille.

[Derridot]

The Commonwealth of Derridot is vehemently against this proposal. Not on grounds that GM Foods are categorically bad, for we allow cloning and genetic modification, but because there are no limitations on the state of said foods.

Specifically:

Let's say we have a GM'd Apple. It has viable seeds. The seeds take root. With no natural predators and hyper-resilient, it starts to take over local ecosystems. This could cause untold amounts of economic and ecological damage. I refuse to allow my country's crops to become possible targets of neither unwitting catastrophe nor politco-industrial sabotage.


We will only allow imports of GM Foods that meet our extremely high standards that include the inability of said organisms to sexually or asexually reproduce.

Thank you.

[Opaloka]

Absolutely against GM foods are not required & can be used to tie nations' farm industries to particular seed & or chemical supplier.

[The Dutch Indies (Ancient)]

The Dutch Indies have voted against.

For starters we have voted against, because if one of these cows gets a dissease then every other cow gets it, because they have the same genes and thus are funarable for the same diseases. When that happens then half the world is without meat because there aren't any cows left.
Also when one of those cloned cowes gets a dissease it's not likely that there will be an anti cure, because they can't find one who is infunarable for it, except if you want to manipulate the genes too.
And if that is the case then your going to have a big budget.

secondly you would come to depend completly on a couple of companys, which will in time start to control the stock. Which could create another crisis because of the farms that will vanish, and the thousands of people without jobs.

[Dinkamana]

The Imperium of Dinkamana is FOR this resolution. It allows us to keep all natural food separate for consumers. It does NOT place restrictions on us in anyway other then labeling which is a big plus.

[Discoveria]

Discoveria is concerned that the definition of 'Genetically Modified Foods' contains at least the following technical loopholes:

1. "the introduction of foreign DNA": a developer could potentially engineer an organism's genome without the introduction of foreign DNA, merely by manipulating the DNA already present within a cell.

2. "DNA": it is theoretically possible to use ribonucleic acid, RNA, as a platform for genetic engineering. RNA retroviruses such as HIV can be used for this purpose:

"Genetic engineering in animal cells often exploits RNA retroviruses that use reverse transcriptase to make a double-stranded DNA copy of their RNA genome. The DNA copy then becomes inserted into the chromosomes of the cell...The infected host cell survives the infection, retaining the DNA copy of the retroviral RNA in its genome. These features of retroviruses make them convenient vectors for the genetic manipulation of animal cells..."

(Source: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bhFu ... us&f=false)

3. "synthetic genes": the word "synthetic" does not necessarily apply to genes taken from or transferred from other non-GM species. For example, taking an antibiotic-resistance gene from a bacterium and inserting it into a plant, would be possible without the involvement of any synthetic genes.

EDIT: Discoveria supports the aims of this Resolution but will ABSTAIN as a result of the objections we have raised.

(A simple modification to the definition would have made it less prone to this objection: "DEFINES Genetically Modified Foods as food or food products that have the genome of the organism directly manipulated through the process of genetic engineering, for example, via the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest")

[Sultanistania]

Mustafa stood up and cleared his throat. Honored men and women of the assembly, as you may be aware, GMO food is a touchy subject with our religion. He paused just a short moment.
The deeply religious of our society will no doubt be... aggravated. I therefore believe that it would be both in your, our honored trade partners, and our, best interest, if our beloved Sultanistania, were given permission to...
Mustafa coughed painfully: his age and frailty were beginning to show.
"relable" the food we import. This would be immensely helpful for preserving stability, and prevent useless uproar. Mind you, this won't affect other members, since we will not relable food meant for export, only food meant for internal consumption.

[Knootoss]

Scorinating using the Aram Koopman Rating Sheet:

World Assembly Resolution Score Chart
Technical and national sovereignty considerations. To be used once plausible legality has been achieved.

UNIVERSALITY	10 points: The resolution tries to accomplish a goal that all reasonable governments can consider "just" or "worthwhile".	10/10
ADDED VALUE	10 points: The objectives could be accomplished without the resolution, but collective action brings added value over and above what could be achieved by individual or member-state government action alone.	10/15
MICROMANAGEMENT	0 points: The resolution mandates decision-making by national governments or the World Assembly when these decisions could be made by individuals, communities or local governments without harm to the objectives of the resolution.	0/5
LIBERTY	5 points: The resolution does nothing to affect individual liberties either way.	5/10
PROPOSAL CATEGORY	10 points: "International Action": Human Rights, Free Trade, Furtherment of Democracy	10/10
LENGTH	5 points: The resolution is concise and understandable.	5/5
PURPOSE	0 points: The resolution does not state a clear purpose, merely providing potential benefits to justify individual measures.	0/5
PREAMBLE	0 points: The preamble fails to justify why the World Assembly, specifically, should take action.	0/5
BUREAUCRACY	0 points: The resolution creates a World Assembly Bureaucracy that is not strictly necessary.	0/10
COST CONTROL	5 points: Implementing the resolution is expensive, but the costs can be justified by the benefits in a cost/benefit analysis.	5/10
FUNDING METHOD	0 points: The resolution creates an unfunded mandate, and does not mention how funding for its objectives is realised.	0/10
ECONOMIC IMPACT	5 points: The resolution aims to have a positive impact on the economies of Member States, facilitating international trade, but the benefits are dubious.	5/10
NON-MEMBERS	0 points: The resolution places Member States at a competitive economic disadvantage.	0/10
MINORITIES	5 points: The resolution does not have problems with concerns of minorities, such as non-human nations, nations with odd political systems, or nations of a different technology level.	5/5

By meeting all of the criteria set out in the World Assembly Resolution Score Chart, a total of 120 points can be obtained. This is the "perfect score" that an ideal proposal would get. Imperfect resolutions score less points. Sometimes, a resolution can score 'negative points' on a particular issue. The World Assembly office of the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss strongly advises against submitting resolutions that have unaddressed "red zones".

WA Ambassador Aram Koopman rates the scores thus: 55 points

50-80 POINTS: This resolution has.... issues. I'll certainly vote against it, though I might be willing to change my mind after a redraft. I will support a repeal.

This government communication has been printed on biodegradable paper. All carbon emissions associated with the creation of this government communication have been off-set with new plantings in Colombia, using the Pink Bunny Tree™ Carbon Offset Scheme, sponsored by the Pink Bunny Cola Corporation and the Global Hell Group. For more information about the Pink Bunny Tree™ Carbon Offset Scheme, consult http://www.futureproof.kn.

[Greater Peterstan]

Overall, a solid proposal. Labeling is a route that empowers individual nations, and consumers themselves of course, to make individual choices without over-reaching or micromanaging. Support!

[Mahaj]

Overall, a solid proposal. Labeling is a route that empowers individual nations, and consumers themselves of course, to make individual choices without over-reaching or micromanaging. Support!

Thank you.

[Mahaj]

The Dutch Indies have voted against.

For starters we have voted against, because if one of these cows gets a dissease then every other cow gets it, because they have the same genes and thus are funarable for the same diseases. When that happens then half the world is without meat because there aren't any cows left.
Also when one of those cloned cowes gets a dissease it's not likely that there will be an anti cure, because they can't find one who is infunarable for it, except if you want to manipulate the genes too.
And if that is the case then your going to have a big budget.

secondly you would come to depend completly on a couple of companys, which will in time start to control the stock. Which could create another crisis because of the farms that will vanish, and the thousands of people without jobs.

Cloned? What on earth? And no, I don't believe that this would cause nations to depend solely on companies.

[SNS Timnath Serah]

The World Assembly,

RECOGNIZING the existence and development of genetically modified foods,

AWARE that nations have different opinions on Genetically Modified Foods,

DEFINES Genetically Modified Foods as food or food products that have the genome of the organism directly manipulated through the process of genetic engineering via the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest.

DECLARES that all genetically modified foods crossing international borders be clearly labeled as being genetically modified,

CONVINCED that through proper labelling of genetically modified foods, less confusion will occur about the GM status of different foods, enabling trade to be quicker and more efficient,

DECLARES that this resolution applies to foods both genetically modified and foods genetically engineered,

CREATES the GM Foods Database as a gathering of genetically modified foods related information,

ENCOURAGES nations to contribute to this database,

STRONGLY URGES nations to abstain from imposing additional restrictions than in this Act on the import or export of genetically modified foods over natural food.

Opposed on the grounds of the above highlighted grammatical error, inconsistencies between British and American spelling, and inconsistencies in capitalization of "Genetically Modified Foods/genetically modified foods". To be fair, we'd likely oppose this anyway on the grounds that it is pretty pointless and therefore a waste of time, effort, and ink.

[Vaelfrejya]

The nation of Valfrejya likes the idea found in this proposal- however we do not extend our vote of confidence. While the idea is a good one, the proposal itself seems to be lacking in its clear definition of 'genetically modified food' as well as exactly what it's requirements are. We support the development of this idea, and will potentially vote for it in the future, but not at this time.

[Greater Peterstan]

The nation of Valfrejya likes the idea found in this proposal- however we do not extend our vote of confidence. While the idea is a good one, the proposal itself seems to be lacking in its clear definition of 'genetically modified food' as well as exactly what it's requirements are. We support the development of this idea, and will potentially vote for it in the future, but not at this time.

I've seen a couple responses to this proposal which focus on the definition of "genetic modification". Personally, I thought that thought the definition was clear enough: "products that have the genome of the organism directly manipulated through the process of genetic engineering via the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest."

Sure, it is a pretty general definition - rather than getting into the minutia of RNA splicing, or whatever, but I think that the definition should be kept broad - keeping in mind that the purpose of this proposal is not to regulate or ban GM foods. Nor is the purpose of the proposal to investigate the particulars of every product and evaluate their risks.

This does not force (or preclude) action by any nation or consumer, or indeed further future action the World Assembly. The only requirement is to indicate the presence of artificial genetic manipulation in the broadest possible sense - allowing individual states and consumers to make further investigations or take further action as they see fit, or as substantive health and safety concerns reveal themselves.

This makes a highly technical definition unnecessary, and perhaps even counterproductive, since it can actually create other loopholes for activities that might not match a detailed technical definition, but could broadly be defined as GM.

The most obvious scenario would be new or as-yet-undiscovered technologies - we don`t currently have the data to create a detailed technical description, but they could be covered by a more general definition.

[Romanatzi]

STRONGLY URGES nations to abstain from imposing additional restrictions than in this Act on the import or export of genetically modified foods over natural food.

I voted against because of that part.