Victories and Actions

Combat Monsanto. Des agriculteurs vont déposer un recours contre l’interdiction du Mon 810 en France Deux sociétés d’exploitations françaises cultivant du maïs devraient déposer conjointement un recours en référé le 17 ou le 18 avril contre l’arrêté d’interdiction du Mon 810 en France, explique Maï Leprat, avocate chez Leprat et Verdier, un cabinet en charge de les représenter. « Les producteurs déposeront à la fois un recours au fond, pouvant prendre un ou deux ans, et un recours en référé suspension, qui pourrait permettre de suspendre en urgence l’arrêté d’interdiction du Mon 810 en France » explique Maï Leprat.

Le référé suspension, si l’urgence est reconnue, suspendrait l’arrêté d’interdiction de la culture du Mon 810 en France en l’attente d’une décision au fond. America - Just Label GMOs Already!!! The “it’s too expensive to label GMOs” argument is FALSE!

American companies already label them for export to other countries. So, why not here? (Visited 723 times, 1 visits today) 300,000 Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto in Federal Court: Decision on March 31st to Go to Trial. Little did Willie Nelson know when he recorded “Crazy” years ago just how crazy it would become for our cherished family farmers in America.

Nelson, President of Farm Aid, has recently called for the national Occupy movement to declare an “Occupy the Food System” action. Nelson states, “Corporate control of our food system has led to the loss of millions of family farmers, destruction of our soil…” Hundreds of citizens, (even including NYC chefs in their white chef hats) joined Occupy the Food System groups, ie Food Democracy Now, gathered outside the Federal Courts in Manhattan on January 31st, to support organic family farmers in their landmark lawsuit against Big Agribusiness giant Monsanto. Monsanto Official Beaten by Farmers over Failed GMO Cotton Seeds in India. Activism Published on July 28th, 2011 | by Shellee Tyler In India, Bt Cotton has become one of India’s biggest cash crops, accounting for over 90% of its cotton production.

If you are not familiar with Bt cotton, it stands for bacillus thuringiensis cotton. Basically, Bt is a GMO gene that is placed in the cotton plant to act as a pesticide. The problem is: it damages the soil over time and usually farmers are left fighting another insect that Bt doesn’t repel. One company managed to corner the market on these GMO Cotton seeds in India and, you guessed it, that company is Monsanto. Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields. Food Published on July 21st, 2011 | by Shellee Tyler In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto’s GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace.

This looks like its going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto and other large scale agribusiness. A new regulation was introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately, some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it. Anonymous Message To Monsanto; We fight for farmers! Anonymous Activists Shut Down Monsanto Website [Video] Under the guise of “increased crop yields” and “a sustainable food system,” biotech giant Monsanto has been pumping dangerous genetically modified crops into the global agricultural industry for decades.

Many consumers feel that unless they scrutinize the supply chain and growing practices of every farmer or manufacturer, they can’t be sure whether or not they’re eating GMOs. Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in France. By Marion Douet PARIS Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:44pm IST PARIS (Reuters) - A French court on Monday declared U.S. biotech giant Monsanto(MON.N) guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides.

In the first such case heard in court in France, grain grower Paul Francois says he suffered neurological problems including memory loss, headaches and stammering after inhaling Monsanto's (MON.N) Lasso weedkiller in 2004. He blames the agri-business giant for not providing adequate warnings on the product label. The ruling was given by a court in Lyon, southeast France, which ordered an expert opinion of Francois's losses to establish the sum of damages. Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto Hybrid Seeds. By Beverly BellThe Wip In an open letter sent of May 14, Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, the Executive Director of MPP (Peasant Movement of Papay) and the spokesperson for the National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papay (MPNKP), called the entry of Monsanto seeds into Haiti “a very strong attack on small agriculture, on farmers, on biodiversity, on Creole seeds…, and on what is left our environment in Haiti.”[1] Haitian social movements have been vocal in their opposition to agribusiness imports of seeds and food, which undermines local production with local seed stocks.

They have expressed special concern about the import of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). For now, without a law regulating the use of GMOs in Haiti, the Ministry of Agriculture rejected Monsanto’s offer of Roundup Ready GMO seeds. In an email exchange, a Monsanto representative assured the Ministry of Agriculture that the seeds being donated are not GMO.

Monsanto 3. Global Class-Action vs Monsanto. No trust in farm biotech, House panel junks GM crops. A decade after India officially allowed GM crops to be cultivated, a parliamentary panel said it had no confidence in farm biotechnology.

The panel cited concerns over health and environment issues. The report poses a fresh policy dilemma for the government and the seed industry with implications on the farm economy. The parliamentary standing committee on agriculture, led by CPM's Basudeb Acharya, which tabled the report “Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food Crops - Prospects and Effects” also called for a reversal of the policy. “The committee has come to the conclusion that since concerns on the potential and actual impacts of GM crops to our food, farming, health and environment are valid, GM crops are just not the right solution for our country,” Acharya said. The committee had travelled across the country and consulted various stakeholders including farmers, biotechnology industry on the issue.

The report pointed out grave inadequacies with the regulatory system on GM crops. Syngenta Charged for Covering up Livestock Deaths from GM Corn. Source: No Bull Published June 15, 2012.

Seed Companies Safe from Monsanto Ties. Maybe we can post here what we like about the above mentioned companies. My favorites are Heirloom Seeds, Seed Savers, groworganic.com (because they are local), and Baker Creek (aka rareseeds.com). Heirloom Seeds has really good organic butternut squash seeds. Very hardy.

Take action for a GE-free Australia. Monsanto GMO Wheat Lawsuit: Farmer Tom Stahl And Advocacy Group Sue Seed Giant. By Carey Gillam June 6 (Reuters) - American wheat farmers and a food safety advocacy group filed a lawsuit Thursday against biotech seed developer Monsanto Co, accusing the company of failing to protect the U.S. wheat market from contamination by its unauthorized wheat. The petition, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, seeks class-action status to represent other farmers it says were harmed by lower wheat prices as some foreign buyers have shied away from U.S. wheat.

It names Clarmar Farms Inc., farmer Tom Stahl, and the Center for Food Safety as plaintiffs. The suit follows a similar action filed Monday by a Kansas wheat farmer, alleging that he and other growers have been hurt financially by the discovery of an unapproved biotech wheat that Monsanto said it stopped testing and shelved nine years ago. Two other farmers lodged a similar lawsuit in federal court in the western district of Washington state. The lawsuits come after the U.S.