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The March Against Monsanto is an international grass roots movement against Monsanto corporation's business practices. Monsanto is a producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed and of a glyphosate based herbicide called Roundup. The movement was founded by Tami Canal in February 2013 to "bring awareness to health, agricultural, environmental and political issues associated with Monsanto" through public protests. On May 25, 2013, an estimated 200,000 to 2 million supporters participated in marches and rallies; organizers claimed that marches took place in 436 cities around the world.

The movement was created by Canal in response to the failure of California Proposition 37, a budget initiative which would have required labeling food products which contain GMOs. Movement advocates support mandatory labeling laws for food made from GMOs and oppose the Farmer Assurance Provision (labeled the "Monsanto Protection Act" by critics). Canal said that the movement would continue its "anti-GMO cause" beyond the initial event.

Background

California Proposition 37

March Against Monsanto was formed by Tami Monroe Canal, a "stay-at-home mom" from Farmington, Utah. A first-time activist, Canal credits her "motherly inclinations", saying that where the health of her children is concerned, it "didn't take much" for her to get involved. The movement was spurred by Canal's frustration over the failure of California proposition 37 which would have required companies to label genetically engineered food.

Social media campaign

Canal first promoted the concept via Facebook on Feb 28th, 2013, with a statement that read: "For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism...Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world's food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup." By May 21st, the Facebook page had attracted 85,000 members. Canal worked with activists Emilie Rensink and Nick Bernabe utilizing various social media sites to promote the march online. Two days before the group held their protest, the U.S. Senate rejected an amendment that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

Issues

The primary goals of March Against Monsanto were to expose what protestors believe are the dangers associated with genetically engineered foods, and to criticize the influence of Monsanto.

Protesters supported mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food, and some carried signs that read "Label GMOs, It’s Our Right to Know" and "Real Food 4 Real People". Demonstrators urged supporters to buy only organic products and to boycott Monsanto-owned companies. The Los Angeles march organizer explained, "We're marching to raise awareness. This is not just a 'boo Monsanto' protest. We want more people to know so they can make their own decisions."

Protesters are also critical of Monsanto's alleged influence on the United States Government, claiming that recent legislation allows Monsanto to ignore court rulings and permits planting of genetically engineered crops even if they are possibly unsafe until Monsanto conducts further testing. One protester from Occupy Maui stated, "Their corporate power is insurmountable....We should not have allowed that to happen. That happened with Citizens United , but who sits on the Supreme Court? Clarence Thomas from Monsanto. Who's in charge of the FDA? Michael Taylor, from Monsanto… We're not stupid."

According to a statement by protester Stephen Lendman other specific aims of the march include calls for repealing of the Farmer Assurance Provision, often referred to by activists as the "Monsanto Protection Act", an increase in the number of independent studies on the health implications of genetically engineered food, and a call for a general boycott of Monsanto.

In a Huffington Post opinion column entitled "The March to Stop Monsanto: Taking Back Our Food, Our Farms, Our Democracy and Our Planet", Dave Murphy (founder of Food Democracy Now!) laid out a number of complaints against Monsanto, including their political influence and problems with chemicals they have previously produced, including DDT and Agent Orange, as a means of motivating the march.

March

External images
Images from The Washington Post
Timeline and images from RT

On May 25, 2013 protests took place around the world; according to organizers they took place in 436 cities in 52 countries. Estimates for the number of participants ranged from 200,000 to 2 million people.

Response

In the runup to the protests, Monsanto's CEO Hugh Grant told Bloomberg News that critics of GMOs are social media elitists who fail to recognize the global food needs of a growing, hungry population. Monsanto released a statement on the day of the march to the Associated Press, explaining that it "respects people's rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy." Adam Blight, corporate spokesperson for Monsanto in Australia and New Zealand, reiterated the safety of genetically engineered foods and the importance of its technology in feeding the world. "Globally, we have to feed an extra two billion people by 2050 and we see biotechnology as one of the tools to help farmers yield more from their crops."

Monsanto Hawaii released a longer statement: "We are making a considerable effort to improve agriculture by helping farmers to reduce inputs, use less water, use less energy while at the same time increase the farmer’s productivity, yield and efficiency," the statement said. "Monsanto Hawaii is proud to be a part of an overall effort to help improve farm productivity and food sustainability worldwide. We recognize that there are varying opinions about our work and we welcome respectful dialogue with anyone who truly would like to learn more about who we are and what we do." Alicia Maluafiti, executive director of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, a Hawaiian agricultural biotechnology trade association of which Monsanto is a member, responded to the march by noting that "enetically modified crops are the most tested and regulated crops, and the scientific consensus about their safety is overwhelming."

Media reception

Coverage of the protests included the Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and international media including Russia Today. On cable news, the march was covered three days after it took place on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper".

Columnist J. Kojo Livingston of The Louisiana Weekly thought that "the mainstream media was sympathetic to the company, using in their reporting, Monsanto's definition of generically modified organisms", a favorable definition that portrayed genetically modified plants designed to "add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply."

Radio host Thom Hartmann, in an opinion piece called "So Much For The Liberal Media", claimed that the media had largely ignored the protests. "There was hardly a peep about the event in the corporate media. Apparently, a Koch-Brothers-funded Tea Party march of 300 people is news-worthy... but two million protesters aren't enough to risk upsetting the corporate masters."

In a column titled "Monsanto Protests Not in the News", Joseph Bachman of the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune questioned why such a large, worldwide protest didn't receive more coverage and observed that there was "little to no coverage of these protests on cable or local news". According to Bachman, "A global protest involving millions of people must be newsworthy...Monsanto produces genetically modified foods that are in our food supply — foods we eat every day — and yet somehow protests against this aren't covered?"

Future plans

March Against Monsanto organizer Tami Camal said she was surprised by the viral response and plans to continue raising awareness. March Against Monsanto joined forces with another GMO protest group, Moms Across America, and has plans to make a showing at Fourth of July parades, and for World Food Day on October 12, 2013. Another group, Occupy Monsanto, organized the July 2013 march.

See also

• Genetic engineering
• Genetically modified crops
• Genetically modified food controversies

References

1. Berry, Ian (June 26, 2012). "Monsanto Digs Into Seeds". Wall Street Journal.
2. Sturmer, Meredith (30 May 2013). "Movement attempts shutdown of Monsanto office in Davis". The California Aggie. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
3. ^ "Protesters Around the World March Against Monsanto". USA Today. Associated Press. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
4. ^ "'March Against Monsanto' comes to King Street in Kitchener". CTV News. CTV Kitchener. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
5. ^ "On the eve of March against Monsanto Senate shoots down GMO labeling bill". RT. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
6. "Boulder residents participate in worldwide March Against Monsanto". Boulder Daily Camera. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
7. Quick, David (26 May 2013). "More than 100 participate in Charleston’s March Against Monsanto, one of 300+ in world on Saturday". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
8. ^ Peterson, Eric S. (29 May 2013). "SLC March Against Monsanto". Salt Lake City Weekly. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
9. Nowles, David (8 May 2013). " Stars align in protest against food giant Monsanto over GMO crops". Daily News. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
10. Taryn, Utiger (21 May 2013). "NZ urged to remain GE-free zone". Taranaki Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
11. ^ Tapper, Jake (28 May 2013). "Millions protest genetically modified food, Monsanto". The Lead with Jake Tapper. CNN. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
12. "‘March Against Monsanto’ Draws As Many As 2 Million Globally, As Facebook And Twitter Once Again Show Social Media’s Effectiveness As Organizing Tools". International Business Times. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
13. ^ Lendman, Stephen (26 May 2013). "Monsanto’s GMO Killer Seeds: Profits Above Human Health". Global Research. Centre for Research on Globalization. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
14. ^ Xia, Rosanna (28 May 2013). "Hundreds in L.A. march in global protest against Monsanto, GMOs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
15. "'Monsanto Protection Act' might be repealed in Senate". RT. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
16. Lewis, Al (29 May 2013). "Monsanto Sows Seeds Of Protest". Fox Business Network. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
17. Beers, Axel (29 May 2013). "The View From The March On Monsanto In Kahului". Maui Time Weekly. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
18. Note: Michael Taylor is the Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the FDA. His boss, Margaret Hamburg, is the Commissioner of Food and Drugs and is in charge of the FDA. FDA Org chart
19. Axelson, Ben (30 May 2013). "March against Monsanto stirs up the GMO debate". The Post-Standard. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
20. Murphy, Dave (28 May 2013). "Dave Murphy: The March to Stop Monsanto: Taking Back Our Food, Our Farms, Our Democracy and Our Planet". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
21. "Umstrittener Gen-Konzern: Weltweite Proteste gegen Monsanto". Der Spiegel. 26 May 2013. [English translation via Google Translate. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
22. "Challenging Monsanto: Over two million march the streets of 436 cities, 52 countries". RT. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
23. Murray, Ryan (8 June 2013). "Backlash growing against GMOs". Daily Inter Lake. McClatchy-Tribune Regional News. Retrieved 18 June 2013; Milner, Conan (21 May 2013). "Protests Against Monsanto in 55 Countries". The Epoch Times. Retrieved 18 June 2013; For the original Bloomberg interview, see: Kaskey, Jack (15 May 2013). "Monsanto Sees 'Elitism' in Social Media-Fanned Opposition". Bloomberg. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
24. Moayyed, Mava (27 May 2013). "Marching against genetic engineering". The Wellingtonian.
25. Jensen, Chelsea (26 May 2013). "Locals march against GMOs". Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
26. Brian Perry for Maui News. May 26, 2013 Protesters against GMOs, but Monsanto says crops are safe
27. "Home". Retrieved 2013-06-18.
28. "Monsanto protests around the world". The Washington Post. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
29. "Global march challenges Monsanto's dominance: TIMELINE". RT. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
30. ^ Livingston, J. Kojo (3 June 2013). "Millions worldwide join March against Monsanto". The Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
31. Hartmann, Thom (28 May 2013)."So Much For The Liberal Media". The Thom Hartmann Program. Talk Radio News Service. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
32. Bachman, Joseph (6 June 2013). "Monsanto Protests Not in the News". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
33. Facebook page for Moms Across America
34. Short, April M. (2 June 2013). "Worldwide Movement Against Monsanto Gaining Steam". AlterNet. Retrieved 18 June 2013.

External links

• Official website

• Protest marches
• Genetic engineering in the United States