Rallyround the Flag

Already we have Kudu bulls with calcified balls as a result of the activities of the agrochemical and mining industries.

Debre Zeit
ETHIOPIA
A group of seed savers, farmers, CSOs and NGOs, representing 40
organisations from 18 countries, from Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin
America, gathered in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia for the meeting: "From Seed
Security to Seed Sovereignty", between 5 and 12 November 2007, we want to
express our concern about the injustice Biowatch South Africa has to face.

Biowatch South Africa asked the SA government for access to information on
GMOs after they realized it was introduced in South Africa in a secretive
and untransparent manner. This was their Constitutional Right. The
government refused to give them any information and they were compelled to
go to court.

Monsanto, a multinational company known for its abuse of human rights and
environmental rights across the world, and one of the biggest GMO companies,
opposed Biowatch's right to information. The court awarded Biowatch the
right to most of the information it requested, and ruled that it was in the public interests to supply the information. The Court however ordered Biowatch to pay
Monsanto's legal cost.

. We concur that Biowatch South Africa acted on behalf of the people of
South Africa, and we believe their right to information should be upheld.

. We also consider that the GMO companies use South Africa as the gateway
for GMOs to the rest of Africa and therefore feel that Biowatch South Africa
acted on behalf of the whole of Africa.

. For this reason we are outraged at the court's judgement that Biowatch
should pay Monsanto's legal cost.

. We reject this disregard of the basic human right to information, to a
safe environment, to safe food, and the right to assert these human rights
in the courts without facing astronomical legal bills.

. We are deeply concerned that this infringement of the right of ordinary
people to know what they eat and what grows in their fields, will not only
impact on South Africa, but also affect the whole of Africa. It will
embolden the multinationals to impose and push their invasive technologies
on Africa, but it will also have a chilling effect on ordinary people trying
to defend their rights.

. We appeal to the people of South Africa and the rest of Africa to support
Biowatch in this challenging time.

. Finally, we appeal to the South African courts to reconsider this poor
judgement, and relieve Biowatch from paying Monsanto's legal costs.
Signed on this day, 11 November 2007 at Debre Zeit, Ethiopia.

In 1874 C.R. Alder Wright tried to create a non-addictive form of opium. He invented diacetylmorphine but abandoned the drug because it was more addictive than opium.
Bayer then marketed diacetylmorphine as a colic remedy for crying babies and coughs under the brand name Heroin. Bayer now blames God for GM contamination,


GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL— When an unapproved genetically modified (GM) crop was discovered in American rice last year, it triggered the biggest marketing and financial disaster in the history of the US rice industry. Greenpeace commissioned an independent economist to do some maths; he found that total costs could exceed USD$1.2 billion.

In August 2006, traces of the uncertified GM crop LL601, known as “Liberty Link” and owned by biotech giant Bayer were found in US rice supplies. 63 percent of US rice exports were affected, the contamination spread to at least 30 countries, from Austria to Ghana to United Arab Emirates. Major importers such as the EU and the Philippines closed their markets to US rice. Up to US $253 million was lost from food product recalls, and future export losses could reach $445 million.


Contamination came from field trials

What is particularly scary is that Liberty Link was never even grown commercially. The contamination was the result of experimental trials, which ended in 2001 - five years before the contamination was discovered. In a desperate attempt to lessen the damage after the scandal broke, the US government decided to approve the rice strain. It didn’t work; as the report shows, the US rice industry is still reeling.

India, an even bigger rice exporter than the US, is the new battleground for GM crops. The Indian government is preparing to start field trials next month. Greenpeace urges them not to make the same mistakes as the US, and to stop all plans for GM experimental trials. Greenpeace India took action with the Bharatiya Kisan Farmers Union today. They visited one of the 12 areas approved for GM rice trials, and with a giant banner reading “Save our Rice” sent the Indian government a clear message.

As Greenpeace GM campaigner Doreen Stabinsky says: “There is only one way for the rice industry to protect itself from another billion dollar debacle and that is to prevent GE rice from ever being grown.”


Bayer attempts to blame God



Hundreds of US farmers and European businesses have filed lawsuits against Bayer in attempts to recoup their losses. Punitive or statutory damages which may be awarded against Bayer may double or even treble the final cost of the GM contamination incident.

Bayer’s response to the disaster, which has destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of people, from growers to producers to sellers, was to blame God. Seriously, they claimed that the contamination scandal was probably caused by “an Act of God.” Even by biotech industry standards, this is beyond grotesque.


India, don’t make the same mistakes as the US

In India, the pro-GM government, its regulators and companies such as Monsanto are preparing to start field trials of damaging GM crops next month. The decision ignores the will of farmers and traders and even the Indian Supreme court, which ruled in August that no new field trial approvals could happen until a full court hearing takes place.

The decision also threatens the Indian basmati rice industry, which is committed to remaining GM free. Many of the planned GM field trials will take place right next to where basmati is grown, and as genes do not understand political boundaries basmati and non-basmati rice types will face serious danger of contamination.

If their rice gets contaminated, it is Indian farmers, traders and millers whose livelihoods could be destroyed. India and the rest of the world must learn the lessons from the US disaster. The only way to ensure crops are safe from contamination is to ensure that GM crops do not exist at all.