Stop the Monsanto frankenseed factory

Monsanto’s extending its power over the globe, with a massive new frankenseed factory in Argentina. Sofía Gatica and local neighbours have spoken out, and she has received death threats and a brutal beating. The threat is urgent — let’s stand with them and stop the plant.

Monsanto manufactures the genetically modified seeds that, when combined with toxic pesticides, create the devastating ‘monocultures’ — where nothing grows but a single plant — that increasingly cover our planet. Now they plan to build one of the world’s largest GM seed factories in Malvinas.

Sofía, worried about health risks from the plant, has joined the protests, backed by nearly 70% of the area’s residents. If 1 million of us join the people of Malvinas in the next 3 days, we can raise the profile of the issue in local media, feature the petition in an ad campaig n, and push the unpopular Argentine President to shut down the plant and roll back the spread of Monsanto’s toxic agriculture:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_in_argentina_global_/?bskwlgb&v=33255

Sofia and the people of Malvinas have been lying in front of bulldozers to block the construction of the plant. If we can amplify their protest — we can help them win. President Kirchner is facing a wave of unpopularity right now, and she can’t afford to be seen to be choosing Monsanto’s profits over her own people.

The mega-plant will use toxic chemicals to engineer seeds, which sounds weird because seeds are supposed to come from plants right? Not in Monsanto’s scary new world, where plants are genetically designed to be sterile, and the only way farmers can keep planting food is by buying seeds every year from Monsanto! In the US, up to 90% of some types of crops are planted with Monsanto seeds, and with its new mega-plant in Argentina, the infamous company is extending its power over the globe.

The threats and beating of Sofía and her fellow protesters are the last straw — let’s stop Monsanto’s invasion of South America, and start rolling back the devastat ion wreaked on our ecosystems by their products:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_in_argentina_global_/?bskwlgb&v=33255

Some argue that genetic modification holds great promise for increased agricultural efficiency. There may be many such benefits in the future, but often the gains are hyped by corporate PR (such as the line that GM seeds ‘feed the world’ by being far more productive than normal seeds — in fact there’s little evidence of that), and GM technologies often put profit over people and planet. Governments should adjudicate the public risks and benefits, but Monsanto is skilled in undermining democratic governance. They even passed a law in the US that says that a judge cannot order a recall of Monsanto products, even on grounds of public safety!

Our planet is being rapidly transformed by genetically modified, industr ial agriculture, and our governments are far too heavily influenced by the American mega-corporation at the center of it all — a corporation that is gradually coming to control the world’s food supply. Let’s not force our children and grandchildren to deal with a world fed by Monsanto, when we can stop it now.

With hope,

Ricken, Meredith, Laura, Nick, Alice, Luis, Marie, Nadia and the whole Avaaz team

More Information:

Anti-Monsanto activists assaulted in Argentina (RT)
http://rt.com/news/argentina-monsanto-protest-clashes-483/

Pesticide illness triggers anti-Monsanto protest in Argentina (DW)
http://www.dw.de/pesticide-illness-triggers-anti-monsanto-protest-in-argentina/a-17013525

Birth defects, cancer in Argentina linked to agrochemicals: AP investigation (CTVNews)
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/birth-defects-cancer-in-argentina-linked-to-agrochemicals-ap-investigation-1.1505096

Sofia Gatica (The Goldman Environmental Prize)
http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/sofia-gatica

Photos from Argentina’s farms, documenting an agrochemical plague (Denver Post)
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2013/10/21/photos-argentina-agrochemicals/6446/

Argentina’s Bad Seeds (Al Jazeera)
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2013/03/201331313434142322.html

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear (Vanity Fair)
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805

Anti-gold mining event by ReINFORM

http://www.reinform.nl/?p=6906