This is a Call to Action for a Non-Hierarchical Occupation of Monsanto Everywhere
Whether you like it or not, chances are Monsanto contaminated the food you ate today with chemicals and unlabeled GMOs. Monsanto controls much of the world's food supply at the expense of food democracy worldwide. This site is dedicated to empowering citizens of the world to take action against Monsanto & it's enablers like the FDA, USDA, EPA, GMA, BIO, and the processed food companies that use Monsanto's products.
We urge you to help organize and attend the closest March Against Monsanto taking place on Saturday, May 25, 2013!
Atlanta’s Food Supply Rescue Coalition Holds March Calling for End to Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered Food System.
By Effe Slayer
Standing outside an Atlanta Kroger grocery store, food advocate Steven Wing reads lyrics to a crowd of protestors and curious shoppers.
“If you’re gonna play God with my food.
If you’re gonna play God and leave organic farmer’s screwed.
If you’re gonna play God with my decisions….
If you’re gonna play God I want a new religion.”
In a moment that is being referred to as “the food fight of the decade“, the lyrics to “Tell Us What You’re Growing“, written by an Arizona songwriter, Celia, couldn’t be more poignant.
The group of protesters is participating in the “Occupy Monsanto Global Day of Action”. They’re on a mission to raise awareness about lab-created genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within the food supply. With rally stops at five “Monsanto Points of Distribution” locations – Publix, Kroger, Home Depot, Whole Foods Market, and McDonald’s – the Occupy Monsanto Genetic Crimes Unit (GCU) declares each location a genetic crime scene for their sale of Monsanto’s toxic products.
“This is a decontamination zone”, declares Vince C. through a megaphone. He is dressed in a biohazard suit. “If you’ve been contaminated by Monsanto’s toxins, you’ll need to be tagged.” Shoppers are outfitted with special hospital wristbands to symbolize a health biohazard.
“There’s something wrong when the chemical manufacturer Monsanto, the same company that made Agent Orange, owns our commercial food supply”, says Food Supply Rescue Coalition‘s Jaye Crawford. Ms. Crawford, a fitness professional, mother, and food advocate, formed the FSRC in order to educate the community on the dangers of genetically engineered food. “It’s a shame. Consumers have no idea they’re eating Frankenfoods contaminated by Monsanto’s GMOs. Consumers don’t know because our government is corrupt. FDA, USDA, Monsanto are one of the same. We want a Monsanto-free food supply. We want labels. We want what 50 other countries and 40% of the world‘s population has, which is the right to know, and the right to choose what we eat,” says Crawford.
This “food fight” over genetically modified organisms has recently gained attention and the national spotlight. In November, Californians are poised to vote “yes” for the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Prop 37, a ballot initiative, would require food manufacturers to label products containing GMOs by 2013.
“We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering, which is when food is modified in a laboratory by adding DNA from other plants, animals, bacteria or viruses”, says Nina Roark, a concerned grandmother form Atlanta. “We’re hoping that the seeds of change blow from California to put an end to this GMO food insanity.”
With over $32 million in opposing donations to Prop 37, Roark reminds consumers, “Now more than ever, it’s crucial for consumers to choose manufacturer loyalties wisely. We have to vote hard with every food dollar we spend.”
Early voting for Prop 37 begins on October 9. Voting at polling locations takes place on November 6, 2012.
It takes a Biosphere as a whole to float harmoniously in the vacuum of space almost as though it were meant to be. To even toy with an act of summoning the logic of the vacuume or further to even attempt to act as though we are in one whilst in an interconnected Biosphere is an act and thought of quintessential silliness and hubris in the extreme.
Beginning Monday, September 17, at 11:30 am and continuing through that week, “Occupy UH Manoa-santo,” a public forum and encampment, was formed on the sidewalk at University & Dole Street. A rally was held at the Hawai’i State Capitol from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm, followed by a discussion on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) at Thomas Square from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. It featured guest speakers and a soap box. At 6:30 pm, a march commenced from Thomas Square and ended at University & Dole to join the encampment there. Documentaries, music, and other media were shown at the UH encampment media center.
“At the UH Manoa campus, you have CTAHR,” explains Blade W., “It stands for College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. They’ve received $620,000 from Monsanto to establish the Monsanto Research Fellows Fund. We’re setting up an encampment at UH to bring public attention to the University’s connection to this harmful form of agriculture.”
“Monsanto’s money has blinded the University to the downsides of GMO.” tells Michael Broady Jr., “When you listen to the official story, biotechnology seems like a positive thing. It is supposed to help farmers grow more food, prevent loss of crops, while Monsanto is able to provide the University with funding. However, those first two claims have not been substantiated, instead leading 250,000 farmers in India to suicide due to the increased dependence on Monsanto which comes with patented GMO seed. I urge UH CTAHR to question the paradigm of monoculture, which is not profitable if all factors are considered including damages to the environment and human health.”
I should add: With the great lengths taken and being took behind genetic modification at such fundamental levels, one conceivable scenario could be reached wherein the life cycle may become so totally alien in relation to what we know and perceive as human beings that it may take a billion years to truly become something we are used to calling again a balance. We may have times of mono sterility to wild and great swings of pre-cambrian explosions later in which it may be difficult for many to survive in a way that some may think of again of in a balance; if we as an ecosystem are able to achieve at all complex ecosystems it could be added.
Capitalism seems to be one of the major causes of this headlong and reckless pursuit, insanely fumbling with the very basis of life; trying to control it and emphasizing greed as capitalism does rather than the other paths and parts of human development as the way we decide to do things. There are other paths possible.
Only a couple of decades ago, genetically modified organisms (GMO) would have been something out of science fiction. In the not so distant past, we never imagined we would find on our dinner tables rice, corn and eggplants with bacterial genes, and built-in herbicides.
In the Philippines, very few Filipinos are aware that GMO-tainted food is already in our supermarkets. Whether we like it or not, chances are high that the food we eat today are already contaminated with chemicals and GMOs.
So today, together with other anti-gmo activists, I strolled the streets of Quezon City in Metro Manila to help raise awareness of Filipinos about the environmental and health hazards of genetically modified organism. This is to support the global week of action against GMOs organized by Occupy Monsanto.
Here in Southeast Asia, we have the Earth Warriors, who are mounting the offensive by mobilizing individuals like you and me to stand up and seize the opportunity to prevent giant agri-biotech companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta, and Bayer, from propagating lies about GMOs.
You, too, can help spread the word about our growing resistance, our collective action in spreading the word about the dangers of GMOs is crucial for a healthy and safer food supply today and tomorrow.
With over 75 actions worldwide this week to stand up against Monsanto and demand the right to know what is in our food, we knew we had to be a part with the Eco Womb family. With an Occupy Monsanto event scheduled in Ithaca, NY, where we just happened to be headed to meet up with friends, and with the help of the Genetic Crimes Unit team, we connected with Joanne, a local hydro-fracking activist. Together, with a handful of others who joined to stand with us throughout the day, we turned the Ithaca Commons into our educational ground from 12noon-5pm, connecting with hundreds on the importance of learning what is really in our foods, the dangers of GMOs, and why the government is not sharing this information. We handed out educational flyers from the Non-GMO Project to inform people on what a GMO is and what the detrimental effects are on farmers, our soil, and our health. We sang music to the tune of “All we want’s a simple label, for the food that’s on our table” carrying on the energy of the Right2Know March. And, we aired The World According to Monsanto all day so that passer-bys could get a glance at the evils behind Monsanto, and learn the history and ties between Monsanto and the government.
Monsanto is corrupt, and has built its fortunes as a chemical company. It claims to be a seed company, “a sustainable agriculture company” helping farmers by “improving agriculture, improving lives” – yeah right! Monsanto developed Agent Orange, PCB’s, RoundUp pesticides, and has continuously distributed false information on the level of toxicity in their products. They even claimed that dioxin was not cancerous, causing weaker environmental regulations based on falsified evidence! Now, they claim that Genetically Engineered seeds are safe – yeah right, again! We have been eating their foods since 1992 without anyone telling us, warning us, or letting us make the choice to not ingest their poisons.
The health ramifications from GMOs are so huge, and with an increase in autoimmune diseases, allergies, ADD/ADHD, asthma, decreased fertility, and even cancer over the past decade, there is no question in my mind that the two correlate. More toxins in our food, more toxins in our bloodstream, more diseases, as our bodies fight to adapt and try to keep up with all of the foreign elements we are ingesting. There have been studies that link GMOs with birth defects and cancerous tumors, and enough evidence to warrant at least restrictions or labeling laws. I personally think GMOs should be banned and Monsanto should go away! I mean why have they dumped billions of dollars into fighting against labeling with misinformation campaigns if they are so confident in their product? They want you to buy their frankenfoods. They want farmers to be dependent on them year after year. They want us to become sick ingesting their poisons and then have to circle back to the pharmaceuticals for medications to be even more dependent on drugs to prop us up. If they control the food supply, they control the people. Stop buying their products, they don’t control you anymore. If everyone did this, or enough of us did, and we voted with our forks and dollars, there would be change. And the only change that is going to happen is if they feel it in their pockets.
Did you know that Monsanto has a patent on GMO seeds? This means that they can sue farmers whose fields may become contaminated with GMOs through cross-pollination just by being near a GMO farm. GMO seeds also can’t be replanted the next year, they are a dead-end food source. Farmers are becoming dependent on Monsanto year after year to supply seeds, and the corporate giant can even step in and sue farmers for trying to replant. Farmers are supposed to save seeds and replant! That is how we have survived for the past millennium. With 94% of soy, 90% of canola, and 88% of corn grown in the U.S. being genetically engineered, and the government subsidizing farmers to grow these crops, and Monsanto controlling the patents on all of these seeds, it is pretty obvious that they are making huge profits. They don’t want us to understand these connections, or the detrimental effects of GMOs. They don’t care about how sick GMOs make the population. They want this, and they must be stopped.
That is why we marched 313 miles last fall with the Right2Know March to demand GMO labeling, that is why we Shopped for Truth at Trader Joe’s to uncover why they won’t label their brand, that is why our family has committed to shop exclusively Non-GMO, and that is why we are continuing to march and educate on the dangers of GMOs, so that we can reach as many people as we can to deliver this message. We are parents, our children NEED us to speak up. If we don’t, who will? We are truly the change we have been seeking. Our children are depending on us to wake up the world. And, it doesn’t have to mean conflict with the powers that be. Through peaceful non-violent protests, educational opportunities, and continuous connections with conscious souls along the way, we are collectively standing up and speaking out to create change one family at a time.
So, what can you do? Take steps to eliminate GMOs from your diet. Choose one of the top contenders first, like corn, or soy, or canola oil. Check what is in your cabinets and read the ingredients. If it has these foods listed and does not have either a Non-GMO Project Verified or USDA Certified Organic label, or you know exactly what farm it came from and you understand what their practices are, then it most likely has GMO ingredients. You do have the power to affect change. Vote with your fork and your dollar. For every bite you take that is Non-GMO and every food that you buy that is Non-GMO, you are voting for change in the one way that makes a direct impact, it affects the profits of those in control. You can also support Proposition 37, the ballot initiative in California that would require GMO labeling, and candidates that support this initiative. You can continue to learn and understand the issue, help spread the word by sharing this information with your friends and family, and support those businesses, organizations, and educational efforts that are standing up and speaking out on behalf of us all. We CAN collectively make a difference. We finally are.
On September 17, 2012, Occupy Defiance and the Occupy Monsanto Genetic Crimes Unit at the Defiance, Ohio Walmart Supercenter protesting against and informing others about GMOs.
