Marty Dread on Monsanto and GMO’S: Music Video and Interview

The first 6 minutes were filmed at the Say No to Monsanto Dance Concert with Marty Dread at the Honoka’a People’s Theater on the Big Island of Hawaii and the second half of the video is a thought-provoking interview with Marty Dread.

Source: Youtube

INCIDENT REPORT: GCU Field Agents Find GMO Corn in Duluth, Minnesota

Two GCU Field Agents from the Organic Consumers Association drove down to Duluth, Minnesota on September 17th for the Occupy Monsanto Duluth Decontamination Event. Dressed up in GCU hazmat suits, they met with protesters, handed out information, spoke to people about the dangers of GMOs & pesticides, and warning them that “the food system has been contaminated”. During their attempt to decontaminate the site, they ran into a GMO ear of corn who was asking people “Am I GMO? How would you know?”.

anonymous support #OccupyMonsanto Tango Down!

PRESS MONSANTO
IT
17/23 Settembre, Occupy Monsanto, mobilitazione internazionale.

In occasione della mobilitazione internazionale contro Monsanto, ci uniamo anche noi allo sforzo di tutti i gruppi coinvolti dicendo STOP STOP alla produzione di OGM finalizzati a conquistare fette di mercato sempre più ampie STOP a logiche di mercato quali la produzione dei prodotti RR2, resistenti agli effetti dei glifosati prodotti dalla stessa Monsanto, dannosi per la salute dell’uomo (si iniziano a documentare casi di malformazioni genetiche) e dell’ambiente (l’impoverimento e la sterilizzazione del terreno provocato dagli insetticidi e dalle monoculture).

In Particolare In Paraguay i potenti latifondisti del gruppo UGP usano metodi sempre più violenti contro i contadini che occupano terre che legittimamente una precedente riforma agraria ha loro affidato.

Uno degli obbiettivi di UGP è piantare su quelle terre sementi transgeniche Monsanto resistenti ai glifosati.

Ancora una volta vediamo l’ambiente distrutto ed inquinato e gli interessi di grandi gruppi voraci anteposti al diritto alla sicurezza alimentare.

Ancora una volta i piccoli e piccolissimi coltivatori vedono i loro diritti negati e le loro vite sconvolte in nome del profitto.

Ci uniamo alla lotta che Vadana Shiva perpetra da 30 anni contro Monsanto e la coltivazione intensiva, attaverso l’associazione Navdanya (www.navdanya.org/)

In Europa invece recentemente la UE ( Unione Europea ) ha ribadito che i Paesi membri non possono opporsi alle direttive comunitarie che prevedono l’introduzione di sementi transgeniche resistenti ai glifosati.

Ciò ovviamente provocherà l’uso intensivo del citato pesticida cancerogeno e di sementi geneticamente modificate.

Facciamo inoltre notare che Monsanto ha costituito la Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), la Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), associazioni in cui rappresentanti, Monsanto, WWF certificano la sostenibilità ambientale delle colture di Olio di palma e soia Monsanto.

Ma come possono essere ecosostenibili colture di organismi transgenici, coltivati distruggendo i piccoli agricoltori e la biodiversità da essi tutelata, e dove per di più vengono impiegati pesticidi cancerogeni e addirittura nocivi per il feto?

Molte aree in cui opera monsanto sono state sottoposte a deforestazione. Ciò significa che, ad esempio,la foresta amazzonica è stata in parte abbattuta per fare spazio alle coltivazioni Monsanto.

Anche riguardo alla deforestazione membri di WWF assieme a rappresentanti Monsanto sono membri di associazioni affini alle citate (RTRS & RSPO) che certificano che le colture Monsanto sorgono su terreni sottoposti a “deforestazione sostenibile”.

Ci sembra opportuno ricordare che l’esistenza di ampie aree della foresta amazzonica è già minacciata dai progetti idroelettrici di molti stati sudamericani, progetti che vengono attuati costringendo le popolazioni native, ultime rappresentanti di culture antichissime, ad abbandonare le proprie terre e le proprie usanze. Questa è una vera e propria pulizia etnica perpetrata dalle grandi aziende del mattone e dell’energia ai danni degli indigeni sudamericani. Ad esempio, a Belo Monte in Brazile gli indigeni vedono minacciata l’esistenza stessa della propria comunità a causa del grande progetto di diga idroelettrica di Norte Energia. Contro tale opera che inonderà molti ettari di foresta amazzonica e prosciugherà il fiume Xingu, mettendo a repentaglio l’esistenza stessa di molte popolazioni indigene, OperationGreenRights si è battuta e si batterà strenuamente.

Altre terre sono state strappate alla foresta amazzonica dalla RS 163, via di comunicazione dei più grandi traffici della terra, da quello della cocaina fino a quello del niobio.

Con questa operazione vogliamo mettere sullo stesso piano Monsanto e un’organizzazione mondiale che ci è stato insegnato ad apprezzare: WWF.

Intendiamo lottare contro quelli che sono veri e propri misfatti internazionali che vedono protagonisti enti governativi ed ONG create e sovvenzionate da multinazionali e Stati, finalizzate ad accrescere un senso civico indirizzato a coprire con la coltre della moralità le azioni umane più indegne.

Monsanto, WWF: nessuna tavola rotonda , nessun certificato di ecosostenibilità farà si che i danni provocati alle foreste dalla coltivazione intensiva siano rimarginati, i vostri fogli di carta non rendono il suolo impiegato nelle vostre colture meno danneggiato dal Round Up, pesticida a base di glifosato che Monsanto stessa produce ed impiega; le vostre inutili garanzie di facciata non risarciscono i contadini Paraguayani per la violenta campagna di allontanamento dalle terre che la riforma agraria affida loro.

Monsanto: niente può oscurare lo scempio sociale ed ambientale che la diffusione delle vostre sementi e pesticidi stà generando su scala globale.

Source: Il blog ufficiale di Anonymous Italia

Davis Enterprise: Occupiers commemorate one-year anniversary with Davis Monsanto protest

By Tom Sakash, From page A1 | September 18, 2012

On the one-year anniversary Monday of the first Occupy protest in New York City, about 100 protesters in Davis filled the sidewalk in front of the Monsanto plant on Fifth Street to join a national effort to shut down the agricultural biotechnology corporation, at least for one day.

Nearly 100 similar protests occurred around the world, according to an Occupy news release announcing Monday’s demonstration.

Occupiers from Davis to Sacramento to Oakland began packing the parkway at 1920 Fifth St. about 6 a.m., dressed in hazardous materials suits and carrying banners and signs to illustrate their distaste for the many anti-environmental actions that groups across the country have accused Monsanto of taking.

Among those allegations include genetic contamination, the marginalization of small farmers and mass pollution of the environment.

Once the group arrived in Davis, they strung red and yellow tape across the driveway entrances to bar plant employees from going in or out, though there already were a handful of cars parked in the parking lot.

“I would love to see Monsanto crumble,” said Kim Sloan, a Sacramento resident and Occupy Sacramento member who joined Monday’s protest. “They’re a very corrupt and horrible company that has been subsidized by the United States government and it needs to stop.”

A lone Monsanto security guard, there to keep protesters from entering the building, would not disclose whether the company was in operation Monday.

However, Monsanto world headquarters did respond to a request for a comment with a statement emailed to The Enterprise.

“The 21,000 people who work for Monsanto are proud of our efforts to help improve farm productivity and food quality,” wrote Tom Helscher, director of corporate affairs, in the email. “Agriculture and its uses are important to California, the United States and the world.

“Among the challenges facing agriculture are producing food for our growing population and reducing agriculture’s footprint on the environment. We respect each individual’s right to express their point of view on these topics.”

The Enterprise was not able to reach representatives of the Monsanto plant in Davis.

Meanwhile, with bull horns and sidewalk chalk, the protest raged on until the late afternoon.

And the group’s message was not only to shut down Monsanto, but also to promote the passage of Proposition 37, which would force food producers in California to label any products that contain “genetically modified organisms” or GMOs.

The cause even drew a high-profile speaker in Roseanne Barr’s vice presidential candidate, Cindy Sheehan, representing the Peace and Freedom Party, who said “evil” companies like Monsanto must be stopped.

“Any time you put profits over our children, any time you put profit over the environment, any time you put profit over health and safety, that is evil, and that is what these corporations do,” Sheehan through a megaphone, with the plant behind her.

“The first step to shutting Monsanto down is passing Proposition 37,” she went on. “Consumers (then) can make a choice to boycott any food products that have GMOs in it. If we stop buying food products that have GMOs then, guess what? They will stop putting GMOs in their food products.”

At about 2 p.m. a group of 20 protesters broke off to march to Mrak Hall at UC Davis. On their way back, they paraded past the U.S. Department of Agriculture building at 430 G St.

By 4 p.m. only 20 protesters remained in front of the Monsanto plant.

Steven Playan, an Occupy Woodland member and one of the main organizers of the protest, said people would stay as long as they wanted, but there were no plans to come back Tuesday.

Other activist groups in attendance included the Sacramento American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Luis Magna Organization de Trabajadores Agricolas de California and the Labor Council of Latin American Advancement.

Source: Davis Enterprise

INCIDENT REPORT: Photos of GCU Field Agents in Times Square, New York City

While Occupy Wall Street was occupying Wall Street, Occupy Monsanto went to Times Square.

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The Garden Island: Kaua‘i is Ground Zero for Occupy GMO

Kaua‘i is Ground Zero for Occupy GMO

September 18, 2012, 1:00 am, Tom LaVenture – The Garden Island

LIHU‘E — Genetically modified organisms were the focus of a worldwide Occupy movement on Monday, and demonstrators in Lihu‘e said Kaua‘i is Ground Zero with experimental seed testing.

Most of the world was holding an Occupy Monsanto protest, a GMO company that has since departed Kaua‘i, but still has operations in Hawai‘i. The Lihu‘e demonstration focused on all major growers conducting testing, including Kaua‘i companies Syngenta and DuPont/Pioneer, along with ConAgra Foods, Inc. and BASF SE.

The issues were about expansion of testing fields from Kekaha to the Eastside, and the referendum to require labeling of GMO products in foods.

“I just want to know what I am eating,” said Sol Kahn, a demonstrator at the protest. “I don’t want to eat GMOs if I choose not to. It needs to be labeled with more information, and there needs to be more research.”

Kahn fears that poisons in the drinking water and soil is killing microorganisms and bacteria that are beneficial to life. The results of leaching pollution is killing the oceans, reefs and fish, he said.

“I am not necessarily against it (GMOs), but the science of it needs to be inspected,” he added.

Michael Schultz was demonstrating about the wealth of university research on pesticides and herbicides that damage the land and environment.

“I’ve been concerned about this for many years since the end of the cane industry,” Schultz said. “We are not just eating GMO food, but we are the guinea pigs for all these toxins.”

Fern Holland said she began researching the GMO issue five years ago as a student of environmental science, marine biology and wildlife management. She said studies from the Institute of Responsible Technology shows GMOs are not doing the right thing.

“They are chemical companies that are genetically modifying the world’s food supply to need chemicals,” she said.

The GMO issue should unify creationists and evolutionists, who agree that open testing of the world’s food supply is unacceptable. They also believe that breading across species is fundamentally wrong, she said.

“It might be an amazing technology to benefit pharmaceuticals and biotech,” she said, “but it needs to be treated unsafe until proven safe.”

Only numbers will make a difference, and Holland said that monthly community meeting for people on all sides of the issue will follow. She hopes to get 30,000 people to join the cause.

There are currently two lawsuits in state circuit and federal court against seed companies on Kaua‘i. The suits claim that violations of dust suppression orders are poisoning neighboring communities and are preventing organic farms from maintaining its status.

“The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture supports all forms of legitimate agriculture, which includes conventional farming, biotech farming and organic farming,” said Janelle Saneishi, a public information officer for the department.

Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture Chairman Russell Kokubun was out of state and not available for comment.

Biotech farming is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and once it approves a crop for planting, it is considered like any other plant, she said. Research crops must also follow USDA conditions, but once approved for release they are considered a deregulated crop and not experimental, she added.

As of now, there does not appear to be scientific evidence of harm, she said. Biotech is regulated by USDA permits including inspections quarantine branch facilities.

“We do have some input into how they grow and the inspectors look at how they are following permit conditions and USDA regulations,” she said.

Lopaka Baptista said he grows his own garden and wants his family to have good food on the table. The GMOs ruins everything, he said, referring to his brother who suffers from the effects of Agent Orange during the war in Vietnam.

He said that Atrizine in the water supply is also deadly for humans, pets, animals and birds of Kaua‘i.

“My concern is for my family, my friends and neighbors,” Baptista said. “We have a lot of keiki and we don’t want them growing up in an environment where you cant even drink the water anymore.”

“This issue is important to me and its pretty critical that people of Kaua‘i participate in a meaningful way,” Wendy Raebeck said. “I am really heartened because a demonstration just two years ago people were asking what GMO is, when it’s now a mainstream issue and it needed to happen.”

Corn, soy and canola are taboo items to Raebeck. She buys only organic tofu and soy milk.

“I’m against GMOs and I’m for labeling foods so that we know what is in it,” said Josephine Bonaparte, an organic farmer and grandmother. “I want a life free of pesticides and free from food that is pesticide resistant.”

Tiana Laranio said she was raised a “GMO youth” on microwavable groceries and canned SPAM, sausage and white rice. She suffered from reproductive and gastrointestinal problems at a young age and said she saw a connection with food allergies.

“I started becoming aware, and really once you wake up, there is not turning back,” she said. “I want to help other people to wake up for themselves.”

She said Occupy is about self-empowerment through community outreach and education. She said people can learn to read labels and demand that stores sell GMO-free products.

Once people know and they choose the alternative, then the natural forces of the free market will make the adjustment. As for Hawai‘i, she would like to see remediation of the ceded lands used for sustainable programs that get more people working with community gardens.

As for protesting, this is Laranio’s first time and she was motivated by the sudden growth of GMO fields around the island.

“I don’t agree with what the GMOs do, but if they do it then they should do it in a lab and not in the open air of Kaua‘i,” she said. “We are all being poisoned whether we realize it or not, and I am not a science experiment. I did not agree to this.”

Calls to Syngenta were not returned by press time.

DuPont Pioneer responded with resources that explain the work of GMOs on Kaua‘i at www.hciaonline.org.

More Hawai‘i seed industry surveys and information on biotech food safety is available from the International Food Information Council at www.foodinsight.org.

Source: The Garden Island