http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/01/11
Published on Friday, January 11, 2013 by Common Dreams
Farmers Rally at White House to Protest Monsanto's GMO Empire
As court hears pivotal case for small farmers and organic seed
growers, opponents to industrial agriculture speak out
- Jon Queally, staff writer
Hundreds of small farmers and advocates for organic seed growers
gathered outside the White House Thursday, calling on President Obama
and other lawmakers to come to their aid as they continue their fight
against Monsanto, one of the world's largest, most powerful-and to
them sinister-industrial agriculture corporations.
The farmers and citizens assembled demanded the end of Monsanto's
"campaign of intimidation against America's family farmers" and their
relentless push for GMO (or genetically engineered-GE) crops. The
rally followed a court hearing earlier in the day in the ongoing and
landmark Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v.
Monsanto case, in which OSGATA and other plaintiffs sued the biotech
firm for its continual and aggressive harassment of organic farmers
and independent seed growers.
"Family farmers need and deserve the right to farm. We have a right
to grow good food and good seed for our families and our communities
without the threat of trespass and intimidation," Jim Gerritsen, an
organic potato farmer from Maine and President of OSGATA, the lead
plaintiff in the lawsuit, told the enthusiastic crowd.
Since 1997, Monsanto has sued, or brought to court, more than 844
family farms over "patent infringement" after their GMO seeds spread
to nearby farms. The legal battles are more than most small farmers
can battle, and Monsanto's size and financial muscle make it nearly
impossible for individual farmers to fight back. Many are forced to
settle and submit to Monsanto sanctions.
"We need Court protection so that our families will be able to carry
on our farming tradition and help keep America strong," said
Gerritsen.
Those that gathered called for President Obama to fulfill his promise
to support the labeling of all GMO products, and also halt pending
approval of GE salmon until independent long-term safety tests can be
conducted.
"America's farmers deserve to be protected from unwanted
contamination of their crops and the continued harassment by biotech
seed giant Monsanto," said Dave Murphy, founder and executive
director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots farmer advocacy group
and plaintiff in the case.
Additionally, he said, "our current regulatory structure here in the
U.S. has failed America's farmers and consumers. The Obama
administration needs to do the right thing to protect our farmers and
make sure that new GE crops go through rigorous safety tests," said
Murphy. "It's time that President Obama live up to his campaign
promise to Iowa farmers in 2007 and label genetically engineered
foods. It's the least that he could do."
And the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:
The protest suggested an uptick in efforts to demand labeling, which
was defeated in a California ballot initiative in November. Creve
Coeur-based Monsanto spent at least $8 million in an industry-wide
effort to sink the California proposition.
Vermont state Sen. David Zuckerman said at the rally that he is
leading an effort in his state seeking legislation requiring labeling
of genetically modified food.
Organic farmers, who are pressing a lawsuit against Monsanto, often
complain that their products are threatened by wind-blown pollen from
genetically altered crops.
"We want and demand the right of clean seed not contaminated by a
massive biotech company that's in it for the profit," Carol Koury,
who operates Sow True Seeds in Asheville, N.C., said at the rally.
Complete background on the OSGATA et al v. Monsanto lawsuit is available here.
http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011lKDHyC2v4e9QhHRaPAGW0ZnCIrj9eogijPKY9a0zvzXA01f8dDVx312lam_RIXxpuUt9OgGofrXw7xg30twiZst1-mrfGgAE2PZHX0lLltVLPdFVXNLfZtzVWUHQDkIi956epNhIMm5QCVYtIf3ow==
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