March against Monsanto – Cape Town – South Africa
Monsanto’s Toxic Legacy
US agro-chemical giant Monsanto has been at the forefront of developing and marketing risky and unnatural genetically modified (GM) seeds. In addition to producing and promoting these artificial and unsafe “food” products, the company has a long legacy of producing toxic chemicals, non-biodegradable plastics and artificial food additives. Monsanto’s toxic pesticide “Roundup” is used extensively on food crops, vegetation, road-sides, railway lines and in water-courses, poisoning our food and contaminating our environment. Yet precious little has been done to monitor and manage its environmental impacts.
Monsanto even arrogantly claims to “own” life itself through patents on seeds. The company is notorious for persecuting small farmers who save seeds from one season to the next. Replanting farm-saved seed as old as agriculture itself.
Monsanto also aggressively prevents and undermines consumer efforts to get accurate labelling of GM foods.
In South Africa
Monsanto owns around 50% of South Africa’s entire maize seed market, and has an absolute monopoly over the country’s GM market. More than 80% of maize, 90% of soyabean and 100% of cottonseed sold this season were GM, all belonging to Monsanto. Yet, the majority of South Africans are completely in the dark about the risky and extremely dangerous food they consume everyday and have been doing so for more than a decade.
Although Monsanto has obtained approval from the South African government and is supported by commercial businesses that stand to profit from GMOs – large food producers, the animal feed industry, and agri-business in general – many small producers, family and organic farmers, consumers and independent advocacy groups vehemently oppose the use of GMOs in agriculture production.
Studies strongly suggest that GMOs pose serious long-term health impacts. Since maize is a staple food item in the diet of many millions of South Africans, Monsanto could be laying the groundwork for a public health disaster.
Organisers of the protest invite all South Africans who are concerned about the health and control of their food supply to join this peaceful protest action on the day.
Food Sovereignty movements and activists share commitments to certain key principles and values such as:
– Defending the right to sufficient, healthy and culturally appropriate food for all;
– Ensuring local, democratic control over our entire food system;
– Supporting local food producers and local communities;
– Protecting the land, water, animals and plants we depend on to live.
For More Information:
– Monsanto Factsheet from African Centre for Biosafety
http://www.acbio.org.za/images/stories/dmdocuments/factsheets/ACB-factsheet_Monsanto.pdf
Thanks to Food sovereignty for the information above http://foodsovgp.wordpress.com/
