Saturday October 12, 2pm at the Robert F. Stephenson Courthouse plaza
“If they control seed, they control food.” Vandana Shiva. Photo courtesy of April Browning.
By April Browning
Monsanto, the world’s largest pesticide producer, is a multinational agricultural-based biotechnology corporation that has its sights set on nothing short of complete control of our seed—and, therefore, of total control over our food supply. To help it assert control over our food supply, the multinational company that already controls a large percentage of the world’s food supply has engaged in a number of nefarious practices.
Monsanto has made a habit of suing small time farmers out of business for what it (and a friendly court system) has called patent infringement: the act of seed saving (something humans have been doing for thousands of years) or the natural act of pollen drift, which farmers have no control over. It has an overwhelming number of documented examples of unethical practices, of creating products that cause potential health risks, of contributing to mass deaths to livestock, of poisoning much of the world’s soil and the plants that grow from it, of Bee Colony Collapse Disorder, and much more. Its influence is underscored by the “revolving door” between the global food corporation and many government agencies here and abroad, which effectively allows the corporation to write its own legislation, mostly to the detriment of the common good of our people.
At 2:00pm on Saturday at the Robert F. Stephenson Courthouse plaza, Kentuckians Against Monsanto will host the Lexington version of the World Food Day March. In contrast to the global food giant, we will advocate the vital need for seed sovereignty, diversity, and control of our own life providing seeds. The march is a part of our mission to spread awareness and educate, while simultaneously to work on petitions and legislation to ask the Lexington city council and Kentucky state legislature to stand behind provisions that advocate for the labeling of genetically modified foods (GMOs), which poll after poll consistently suggests a significant majority of Americans want to see labeled.
This is only the beginning in the fight against Monsanto and we fully intend to continue to demand that our representatives represent the desires of their constituents over their corporate owners. Whether you like it or not, chances are Monsanto contaminated the food you ate today with chemicals and unlabeled GMOs. Our movement is dedicated to empowering citizens of the world to take action against Monsanto and other agriculture-based corporations like Sygenta, Bayer, and Dupont.
Monsanto is a company that thinks it can get away with putting profits before people. According to Philip Angell, Monsanto’s director of corporate communications, “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible.” They claim to be a company supporting sustainable agriculture, but their products have led to the exact opposite. After 20 years of GMOs and chemical fertilizer, people have decided enough is enough!
Please, join with us on Saturday at the courthouse. We will have a number of dynamic speakers and entertainment at the kid-friendly event. We hope to see you there.
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