Carmelo on Occupy Monsanto

TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE: http://alainet.org/active/58196&lang=es

Madeline Buthod and her two children protest Monsanto and GMOs outside of the Millennium Hotel. Photo: Langelle/GJEP

OCCUPY MONSANTO GOES TO THE HOME OF MONSANTO

Carmelo Ruiz Marrero 

In the city of St. Louis, there is no one who does not have a friend, relative or neighbor working at Monsanto. This city on the banks of the Mississippi river has the doubtful honor of hosting the world headquarters of the Monsanto corporation. Founded in 1901, it was one of the world's leading chemical companies in the twentieth century. At the start of this century it transformed itself into a biotechnology giant, or as the company likes to put it, "a leader in the life sciences industry". Nowadays, Monsanto is the world's largest seed company (global market share: 27%) and owns over four fifths of the planet's genetically modified (GM) seed.

Monsanto is therefore the very embodiment of the biotech-agricultural-industrial complex, the company has worked very hard to earn that distinction. That also means that it symbolizes everything that is wrong with the food system.

Monday September 17 (2012) was the Occupy Monsanto campaign's international day of actions against the corporation (1). Concerned citizens all over the world were called upon to carry out protest actions at the Monsanto facility nearest to them. Groups as far away as Chile and Argentina picketed Monsanto offices and circulated photos of their actions on social media. 

That day I was, of all places, in St. Louis picketing the company headquarters' main entrance. I was accompanied by dozens of local activists plus some who came from as far away as Chicago and the San Francisco bay area.

TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE: http://alainet.org/active/58196&lang=es

Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Russian Academy of Scientists, joins GMO Free Midwest picket. Photo: Don Fitz

Occupy the dialectic

http://www.zcommunications.org/occupy-monsanto-occupy-the-dialectic-by-don-fitz

Occupy Monsanto: Occupy the Dialectic

---

By Don Fitz

Friday, September 28, 2012

Change Text Size a- | A+

Don Fitz's ZSpace Page

Join ZSpace

According to Carmelo Ruiz Marrero, Western powers have been grabbing seeds from the global South for centuries in order to develop new plant breeds. His talk provided a political and historical context to the current global battle around the patenting of seeds and crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Carmelo Ruiz Marrero speaks at GMO Free Midwest, Sept 16 2012

It was September 16, the first day of GMO-Free Midwest, the St. Louis portion of Occupy Monsanto. On the panel with Carmelo was Dr. Ollie Fisher, whose first job after getting his Chemical Engineering degree was working at Monsanto. He left that position after becoming distressed with the way the company uses its technology to subjugate Africa and coerce it into producing food that compromises human health.

Dr. Ollie Fisher speaks at GMO Free Midwest, Sept 16 2012

Priti Gulati Cox was also on the panel “GMOs as a Weapon of Global Domination.” She described effects of GMO crops on her native India. Monsanto advertises heavily to persuade farmers to switch to its new wonder seeds. After multiple crop failures, thousands of Indian farmers have committed suicide, unable to deal with the shame that bankruptcy has brought.

Priti Gulati Cox speaks at GMO Free Midwest, Sept 16 2012

The following day, September 17, Occupy Monsanto sponsored actions across the globe. By beginning with a day of panels, the St. Louis event encouraged a dialectical interplay between thought and action. Dialectics can help understand historical processes that develop over centuries and can guide the growth of a particular struggle.

To read the whole article: http://www.zcommunications.org/occupy-monsanto-occupy-the-dialectic-by-don-fitz

Anti-GMO protest in downtown St. Louis, MO, Sept 17 2012.

 Wearing the white jacket is Russian scientist Irina Ermakova, who carried out lab animal feeding studies that demonstrated the harm caused by GMO foods.