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The March Against Monsanto is an international grassroots movement against Monsanto, a producer of genetically engineered seed and Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide. The movement was founded by Tami Canal in response to the failure of California Proposition 37, a ballot initiative which would have required labeling food products made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Advocates support mandatory labeling laws for food made from GMOs and oppose what they and others call the "Monsanto Protection Act", a policy rider found in the Farmer Assurance Provision. On May 25, 2013, an estimated 200,000 to 2 million supporters participated in marches and rallies that took place in between 330 and 436 cities around the world, mostly in the United States. Canal said that the movement would continue its "anti-GMO cause" beyond the initial event.

Background

GMO controversy

Monsanto is an American multinational agricultural biotechnology company headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. They are the leading producer of genetically engineered seed and of the herbicide Roundup, which includes glyphosate. Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" crops are genetically engineered to withstand this herbicide. In the United States, the majority of corn, soybean, and cotton is genetically modified. Monsanto has been involved in high profile lawsuits, as both plaintiff and defendant, and have been criticized by American journalist Jake Tapper of CNN, who said that Monsanto has "a history of questionable ethics practices and close ties to the government".

The Food and Drug Administration does not require labeling of GMO products in the marketplace, nor does it recognize a distinction between GMO and non-GMO foods. There is a broad scientific consensus that food on the market derived from GM crops poses no greater risk than conventional food. Currently, there is no evidence to support the idea that the consumption of approved GM food has a detrimental effect on human health. Despite this, the Associated Press has reported that some consumers, companies, and organizations remain concerned about whether "genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment", and have advocated for mandatory labeling laws. The Biotechnology Industry Organization supports voluntary labeling but opposes mandatory labeling laws because it believes it would "mislead or confuse consumers into thinking the products aren't safe".

California Proposition 37

March Against Monsanto was created by Tami Monroe Canal, a full-time mother of two daughters. Canal was living as a resident in California when Proposition 37, a ballot initiative that would have required labels on products containing genetically engineered food, was rejected by voters in November 2012. Monsanto spent $8.1 million opposing the passage of Proposition 37, making it the largest donor against the initiative. The combined total spent by food industry advocacy groups on the campaign to defeat Proposition 37 was $45 million. Canal credits Proposition 37 with "opening her eyes" to GMOs for the first time.

Soon after, Canal moved to Utah where she had difficulty finding the same kinds of fresh foods and farmers' markets she had left behind in California. "I became increasingly angry every time I would go to the grocery store and spend a small fortune to ensure I wasn't feeding my family poison", she recalled. Canal was not only angry about the failure of Proposition 37 and frustrated with trying to find reasonably priced healthy food, but she was also concerned about the health of her children.

Talking about her personal motivations for starting the movement, Canal told the Salt Lake City Weekly, "Companies like Kellogg's and General Mills are putting things like Fruit Loops on the market that are basically 100 percent genetically engineered ingredients. And that's marketed to our kids." Out of her anger, frustration, and concerns for the health of her children, Canal developed the idea for a "March Against Monsanto" social media campaign.

Social media campaign

Canal started a Facebook social media campaign on February 28, 2013. She argued that Monsanto benefited from corporate subsidies and political favoritism and that its patent rights over the genetic makeup of seeds resulted in losses to small and organic farmers. Activists Emilie Rensink and Nick Bernabe worked with Canal to promote the march on various social media sites. By May 21, the Facebook page had attracted 85,000 members with approximately 110,000 "likes" and about 40,000 daily visitors.

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. One independent source estimated the number of participants to be 200,000. March organizers estimated 2 million people participated, a number quoted by most media including CNN and RT.

In Southern California, protests occurred in Los Angeles, including Venice, Long Beach, and San Diego. In Los Angeles, protesters marched from Pershing Square to City Hall. Some carried signs expressing support for mandatory labeling of GMOs that read "Label GMOs, It's Our Right to Know", and "Real Food 4 Real People". Dorothy Muehlmann, organizer of the L.A. march, said that they were 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."

Environmental journalist John Upton of Grist magazine noted that the march took place two days after Senate Amendment 965 to the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 was rejected. The amendment, introduced by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, was an attempt to allow states to label GMO foods. "Any U.S. senators paying attention to what was happening in the entire world over the weekend may have noticed a teensy disconnect between their protectionist votes for Monsanto and global discontent with the GMO giant," Upton wrote.

Concerns

The March Against Monsanto published a list of concerns on its website. According to the group, the protests were held to address supposed health and safety issues, perceived conflicts of interest, and agricultural, environmental, and legislative concerns. These include:

• The stated belief that GM foods can adversely affect human health, causing "cancer, infertility and birth defects"
• Allegations of a conflict of interest between former employees of Monsanto who work for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Claimed economic losses by small farmers faced with Monsanto's patent rights and "monopoly" of the food supply
• Concerns about GMOs and the declining bee population
• Concerns about legislation like Section 735 of HR 933, formally known as the Farmer Assurance Provision but called the "Monsanto Protection Act" by critics, which authorizes the United States Department of Agriculture to allow the planting and cultivation of genetically modified food while environmental reviews are completed, even if there is a legal ruling against their approval. Boston Magazine reported that the bill "protects companies like Monsanto from lawsuits over potential health risks". On the day of the protests, WFTS-TV in Tampa, Florida, reported that protesters were calling for the bill's repeal. Protesters argued that the legislation allows Monsanto to ignore court rulings and permits planting of genetically engineered crops even if they are shown to be unsafe. Dave Murphy, founder of Food Democracy Now!, called the controversy over H.R. 933 "the turning point in the debate on political lobbying and genetic engineering in the U.S." and he described the March Against Monsanto as raising "one of the most pressing issues of our time".

Response

On May 16, commenting on petitions submitted to the USDA opposing applications by Monsanto and Dow to test new GM crops, Monsanto's CEO Hugh Grant stated the petitioners wanted to block others from choosing more affordable food options. Subsequent reports on the March cited these comments. Monsanto released a statement on the day of the march to the Associated Press, explaining that it respected people's rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintaining that its seeds improved agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy. Commenting in response to news of the march, Adam Blight, corporate spokesperson for Monsanto in Australia and New Zealand, stated that GE foods were fine and that biotechnology was one of the tools to help farmers yield more from their crops and thus feed the increasing global population.

Monsanto Hawaii released a longer statement saying that they were 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 and that they were part of an overall effort to help improve farm productivity and food sustainability worldwide. They went on to say that they would welcome respectful dialogue with anyone who truly would like to learn more about who they were and what they did.

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 coverage

The protests were covered by numerous news outlets, including the Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and CNN in the United States. International coverage included Russia Today and The Guardian. Some commentators speculated that the mainstream news media were influenced by corporate ties to Monsanto, and suggested that media coverage of GMOs reflected Monsanto's framing of the debate, thus causing the marches to be ignored by the media relative to the attention given to conservative protests and to the importance of the food supply.

Future plans

March Against Monsanto organizer Tami Canal 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

• Millions Against Monsanto

References

1. Berry, Ian (June 26, 2012). "Monsanto Digs Into Seeds". Wall Street Journal.
2. ^ "On the eve of March against Monsanto Senate shoots down GMO labeling bill". RT. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
3. "Boulder residents participate in worldwide March Against Monsanto". Boulder Daily Camera. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
4. ^ 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.
5. according to one news source
6. ^ "'March Against Monsanto' comes to King Street in Kitchener". CTV News. CTV Kitchener. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
7. according to the organizers
8. ^ "Protesters Around the World March Against Monsanto". USA Today. Associated Press. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
9. according to one news source
10. according to the organizers
11. ^ Tapper, Jake (28 May 2013). "Millions protest genetically modified food, Monsanto". The Lead with Jake Tapper. CNN. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
12. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Board of Directors (2012). Legally Mandating GM Food Labels Could Mislead and Falsely Alarm Consumers
13. ^ American Medical Association (2012). Report 2 of the Council on Science and Public Health: Labeling of Bioengineered Foods
14. World Health Organization. Food safety: 20 questions on genetically modified foods. Accessed December 22, 2012.
15. ^ United States Institute of Medicine and National Research Council (2004). Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health Effects. National Academies Press. Free full-text. National Academies Press. See pp11ff on need for better standards and tools to evaluate GM food.
16. Other sources:
    • Winter CK and Gallegos LK (2006). Safety of Genetically Engineered Food. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Communications, Publication 8180.
    • Ronald, Pamela (2011). "Plant Genetics, Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security". Genetics. 188 (1): 11–20.
    • Miller, Henry (2009). "A golden opportunity, squandered" (PDF). Trends in biotechnology. 27 (3): 129–130.
    • Bett, Charles (August 2010). "Perspectives of gatekeepers in the Kenyan food industry towards genetically modified food". Food Policy. 35 (4): 332–340. doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2010.01.003. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
    • Li, Quan; McCluskey, Jill; Wahl, Thomas (2004). "Effects of information on consumers' willingness to pay for GM-corn-fed beef". Journal of Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization. 2 (2): 1–16.
    • Dr. Christopher Preston, AgBioWorld 2011. Peer Reviewed Publications on the Safety of GM Foods.
17. Key S, Ma JK, Drake PM (2008). "Genetically modified plants and human health". J R Soc Med. 101 (6): 290–8. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2008.070372. PMC 2408621. PMID 18515776. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
18. Vaughan, Adam. "Prop 37: Californian voters reject GM food labelling". The Guardian.
19. ^ Milner, Conan (21 May 2013). "Protests Against Monsanto in 55 Countries". The Epoch Times. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
20. ^ Peterson, Eric S. (29 May 2013). "SLC March Against Monsanto". Salt Lake City Weekly. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
21. Nowles, David (8 May 2013). " Stars align in protest against food giant Monsanto over GMO crops". Daily News. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
22. Taryn, Utiger (21 May 2013). "NZ urged to remain GE-free zone". Taranaki Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
23. Case, Philip (31 May 2013). "March Against Monsanto planned for UK cities". Farmers Weekly. 159(22):83. Web version published online 23 May 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
24. ^ Xia, Rosanna (28 May 2013). "Hundreds in L.A. march in global protest against Monsanto, GMOs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
25. "Umstrittener Gen-Konzern: Weltweite Proteste gegen Monsanto". Der Spiegel. 26 May 2013. [English translation via Google Translate. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
26. "Challenging Monsanto: Over two million march the streets of 436 cities, 52 countries". RT. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
27. "‘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.
28. Upton, John (27 May 2013). (As world marches against Monsanto, senators protect it from labeling laws. Grist. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
29. Blomberg, Lindsey (26 May 2013). "The March Against Monsanto." E–The Environmental Magazine. p. 9. ISSN 1046-8021
30. Osborne, Hannah (24 May 2013). "Occupy Monsanto: UK Campaigners set to Target Genetically Modified Food". International Business Times. Retrieved July 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
31. National Public Radio: The Salt: Did Congress Just Give GMOs A Free Pass In The Courts? March 21, 2013.
32. Annear, Steve (19 June 2013). "Thousands Sign Petition In Support of Labeling Foods Containing GMOs". Boston. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
33. "March Against Monsanto in Tampa, St. Pete". WFTS-TV. Scripps Media, Inc.
34. "'Monsanto Protection Act' might be repealed in Senate". RT. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
35. Lewis, Al (29 May 2013). "Monsanto Sows Seeds Of Protest". Fox Business Network. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. Moayyed, Mava (27 May 2013). "Marching against genetic engineering". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
39. Jensen, Chelsea (26 May 2013). "Locals march against GMOs". Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
40. Perry, Brian (26 May 2013). "Protesters against GMOs, but Monsanto says crops are safe". The Maui News. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
41. Hawaii Crop Improvement Association. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
42. "Monsanto protests around the world". The Washington Post. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
43. "Global march challenges Monsanto's dominance: TIMELINE". RT. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
44. The Guardian: Millions march against GM crops. 25 May 2013.
45. ^ Livingston, J. Kojo (3 June 2013). "Millions worldwide join March against Monsanto". The Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
46. Hartmann, Thom (28 May 2013)."So Much For The Liberal Media". The Thom Hartmann Program. Talk Radio News Service. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
47. Bachman, Joseph (6 June 2013). "Monsanto Protests Not in the News". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
48. Facebook page for Moms Across America
49. Short, April M. (2 June 2013). "Worldwide Movement Against Monsanto Gaining Steam". AlterNet. Retrieved 18 June 2013.

Further reading

• Annear, Steve (24 May 2013). "Thousands to Protest Genetically Modified Foods During Weekend Rally". Boston. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
• "Worldwide March Against Monsanto". Progressive 77(7):10–13. July 2013. ISSN 00330736 Parameter error in {{issn}}: Invalid ISSN.

External links

• Official website

• Protest marches
• Genetic engineering in the United States