The streets of Brisbane were filled today with protesters campaigning against agribusiness giant Monsanto, to raise awareness about an issue that some say is more important than any other – our food, our farmers, our Eco-system and ultimately – our health.
TOTT News was present at the Brisbane ‘March Against Monsanto’, an event held in culmination with a global day of actions against the corporation and it’s practices – including mirrored events across Australia.
Campaigners rallied for the protection of local food supplies, awareness, accountability and truth – heading up against one of the largest corporations in the world and their tightly closed control over our lives. As previously mentioned on the site, GM Wheat trials have already begun taking place in Australia (prompting this letter from myself to Australian politicians), and the illusion of choice in our Monsanto-controlled products down under is almost inescapable. However, for those who aren’t fully aware of this issue – let’s briefly run through it, shall we?.
Monsanto – the largest producer of pesticides, herbicides & genetically engineered crop seeds in the world, and the company responsible for Agent Orange – have been changing the DNA of crops in the United States (and subsequently worldwide as a result), including corn, soy and canola – among others. Using insecticides, like BT, and herbicides, like Roundup, Monsanto crops are now found in almost every processed and pre-packaged food source you may come across, even though these products have been linked to cancer and the reason behind other atrocities across the world, including agriculture destruction, deduction in bee populations, human health and much more.
Out in force: Protesters passionate about their future
Photo: @An0nkn0wledge
Photo: Naomi Jean Clarke
Previously, over 800 scientists from 84 countries have signed a statement calling for “…the immediate suspension of all environmental releases of GM crops and products, both commercially and in open field trials, for at least 5 years; for patents on living processes, organisms, seeds, cell lines and genes to be revoked and banned; and for a comprehensive public enquiry into the future of agriculture and food security for all.”
Of course – a rise like this didn’t come easy for Monsanto. One of the key tools the company and a handful of other biotech giants – including DuPont, Syngenta, Bayer and Land O’ Lakes – have used to cartelize the world’s seed supply is U.S. patent law. 82% of all seeds for sale in the world are genetically modified and patented by about a dozen companies.
Monsanto – over time – established a close relationship with government officials. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for instance, was a former attorney for Monsanto. Shockingly enough, he just sided with Monsanto in a case involving a 75-year old farmer who saved his GM seeds, from one season to the next, a practice that has been done regularly in farming for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
Furthermore, along with other GM food producers, Monsanto recently spent millions to stop Proposition 37, a bill in California that would have required food companies to label GM ingredients in the United States.
Even more shocking, the President of the United States – who, in his first presidential election campaign, called for the labeling of GMOs – now has recently inked into law the “Monsanto Protection Act,” which protects Monsanto from “frivolous” lawsuits. This law was essentially written by Monsanto themselves!
Is this direct proof that corporations are in control of governments across the world?
Brisbane out in full swing!
Photo: @nanchanglu
Photos: Anonymous Brisbane
Photo: Michael Greves
Through all of this – the tide is turning!
Sarah Saunders, an organizer of the event, said she was leading the march to “help protect the future health and food supply for my children. The long term health effects of GMOs are up for debate and I would rather my children not be science experiments.” (via RT)
Brisbane protesters demonstrated today that the people are not happy with this corporate control over such vital aspects of their lives, and they will continue to fight in numbers until this gamble with our futures is stopped.
May 25th will forever be remembered as a day of global resistance against Monsanto – with over 2,000,000 people set to march in 55 countries – after Australia and New Zealand lead the way today.
This article was just a brief summary of Monsanto’s actions – however – we have linked some great information below if you would like to expand your knowledge into the matter.
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Brisbane hub:
https://www.facebook.com/events/324071584387963/?fref=ts
Main campaign website(s):
http://www.March-Against-Monsanto.com
https://www.facebook.com/MarchAgainstMonstanto
Timeline of Global Day of Action:
http://rt.com/news/march-against-monsanto-gmo-776/
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RELATED STUDIES:
“Are GM Crops Killing Bees?”
Spiegel Online International 2007
www.ask-force.org/web/Bees/Latsch-CCD-Spiegel-2007.pdf
“A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health”
International Journal of Biological Sciences 2009
www.ijbs.com/v05p0706.htm
“Quantification of toxins in a Cry1Ac + CpTI cotton cultivar and its potential effects on the honey bee Apis mellifera L.”
Ecotoxicology 2010
www.link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10646-010-0530-z
“Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling”
Universidad de Buenos Aires 2010
www.pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx1001749
“GM Soy: Sustainable? Responsible?”
GMWatch 2010
www.gmwatch.org/images/pdf/gm_full_eng_v15.pdf
“Glyphosate Exposure in a Farmer’s Family”
Journal of Environmental Protection 2012
www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=22645
“GMO Truths and Myths report”
Earth Open Source 2012
www.earthopensource.org/files/pdfs/GMO_Myths_and_Truths/GMO_Myths_and_Truths_1.3b.pdf
“Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food Crops – Prospects and Effects”
Ministry of Agriculture, India 2012
www.gmwatch.org/files/India_GM_Report.pdf
“Assessment of the environmental exposure of honeybees to particulate matter containing neonicotinoid insecticides coming from corn coated seeds.”
Università degli Studi di Padova 2012
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22292570
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RELATED DOCUMENTARIES:
The World According to Monsanto:
Seeds of Death:
Genetic Roulette:
Scientists Under Attack:
http://bit.ly/XMsxJa
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THANKS TO ACTIVIST POST.
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Reblogged this on Real News Australia.
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your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.
Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images.
Maybe you could space it out better?
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment.
There’s no doubt that that you ought to publish more on this issue,
it might not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t speak about such topics.
To the next! All the best!!
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post. I will certainly return.
May 24th is the date, you did such an ok job on the story & referencing but got the most relevant piece of information wrong.
This article was written for the first ‘March Against Monsanto’ over a year ago, not the one that was held today (24/05/14).