March Against Monsanto | A Message from Vandana Shiva

































Moderator’s Note: We are three days away
from the global 2014 March Against Monsanto on May 24. Events and protests are
planned in hundreds of cities across more than fifty countries. It will be
another important day for political organizing, testimonials, educational
workshops and classes, films, lectures, and much more. There will certainly be
plenty of direct action protests. This year we have much to celebrate in the
struggle for food democracy.

























There are multiple clear signs that the no-GMO movement is finally
turning the tide against Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, Dow Agriscience,
and the rest of so-called Gene Giants. These include the successful passage of
the Vermont labeling law last month; this week’s overwhelming voter support for
the Jackson County, Oregon ban on transgenic crops; the ban on transgenic corn
in Mexico in effect since October 2013 and upheld two months ago; another
Mexican ruling against Monsanto, this one involving the planting of transgenic soybeans
in Campeche in what is turning out as a key challenge by Mayan indigenous
farmers and beekeepers just this past March (see our report, “Mayan
farmers defeat Gene Giant” of March 16, 2014).



These movement successes cannot be taken for granted. The
victories enjoyed since October 2013 involve a combination of forces that are
easily under-estimated but what I believe is winning the day at the community,
county, state, and even national levels is the union of social networking and the
fact that very strong science is making its way into the public discourse. The
networks are deftly using the rapidly growing scientific evidence of
environmental and other biosafety harms, while the GMO advocates, including
scientists for hire, are actually acting exactly like climate change deniers –
in this case they ignore the evidence of gene flow and the implications this
has for seed freedom, for the biodiversity of the planetary stock of indigenous
food, medicine, and fodder crops.


I present a message of seed freedom and food democracy from my
colleague, Dr. Vandana Shiva, posted earlier today at Seed
Freedom.














Vandana Shiva’s Message for the March against Monsanto




I send greetings of solidarity for all the people gathered for
the March against Monsanto.


Marching against Monsanto is marching for freedom and democracy,
for health and safety, for seed and biodiversity. 


People often ask me “Why Monsanto”?
My response is, we did not
choose to target Monsanto, Monsanto chose to target our seed and food freedom,
our scientific and democratic institutions, our very lives. 


Monsanto has admitted it wrote the intellectual property treaty
of WTO that allows seeds to be redefined as Monsanto’s intellectual property.
And it is through patents that Monsanto, a poison maker, has become a seed
giant, with the largest share in control over the seed market. In India it
controls 95% of the cotton seed market, and the extraction of super-profits
through royalties has trapped our small farmers in unpayable debt. 284,000
farmers have committed suicide in India because of debt linked to seed and
chemicals.


Corporations like Monsanto were behind the EC Seed law that
would have made diversity and seed saving illegal in Europe. The last
parliament sent back the law to the European commission. We must ensure that
the new parliament does not pass the law.


In the US, Monsanto used its money to undermine the Right of US
citizens to Know what they eat. It is threatening the State of Vermont because
it got a labeling law in place. And it now has introduced a bill in Congress
called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act which has earned itself the name
the Dark (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act.


This is an assault on Democracy and people’s freedom.
While
Monsanto announces that it is retreating from Europe, it is pushing GMOs on the
Eastern European countries. And is pushing new trade treaties like TIPP, to
undermine Europe’s largely GMO free status, and to get stronger IPR rights on
seed.


Monsanto have claimed more than 1500 climate resilient patents,
and are hoping to use the climate crisis to make even bigger profits. And
recently Monsanto took over Climate Corporation, to control climate and weather
data, and commodify it.
 Monsanto wants super-profits through total control
over nature and humanity.


We seek Seed Freedom, Food Freedom, and Earth Democracy, where
all beings on the planet are free and the well being of all is protected,
through sharing and caring, through love and compassion, through creating
abundance for all.
 The greed and violence of one corporation cannot be allowed
to destroy life on Earth, the lives of our farmers, the lives of our children. 


That is why we March Against Monsanto”


Dr. Vandana Shiva


More information:


May 24, 2014
‘March Against Monsanto’ planned for over 50 countries 


Find A March Near You:


http://tinyurl.com/kwcrqfu
#marchMay24

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