The March Against Monsanto is an international grassroots movement against Monsanto, a producer of genetically engineered seed and Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide.^[1] 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.^[2][3][4] On May 25, 2013, an estimated 200,000^[5][6] supporters participated in marches and rallies that took place in between 330^[4][5] and 436^[7][8] cities around the world, mostly in the United States.^[4] Canal said that the movement would continue its "anti-GMO cause" beyond the initial event.^[8]

Background

"March Against Monsanto" was created by Tami Monroe Canal, a full-time mother of two daughters and first-time activist. 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."^[9] Out of her anger, frustration, and concerns for the health of her children, Canal developed the idea for a "March Against Monsanto" and began a social media campaign.^[9][10]

Social media campaign

Canal started a Facebook page called "March Against Monsanto" in late February 2013. On it, she states: "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." 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.^[2] Activists Emilie Rensink and Nick Bernabe worked with Canal to promote the march on various social media sites.^[2] By May 21, the Facebook page had attracted 85,000 members with approximately 110,000 "likes" and about 40,000 daily visitors.^[11][12]

California Proposition 37

Tami 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.^[13] The combined total spent by food industry advocacy groups on the campaign to defeat Proposition 37 was $45 million.^[10] Canal credits Proposition 37 with "opening her eyes" to GMOs for the first time.^[9]

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.^[10] 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.^[9][14]

GMO controversy

Monsanto is an American multinational agricultural biotechnology company headquartered in Missouri. The company is the largest producer of genetically engineered seed and manufactures the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup. Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" crops are genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide. In the United States, the majority of corn, soybean, and cotton is genetically modified. During CNN's coverage of the March, journalist Jake Tapper, host of the The Lead with Jake Tapper, said that "some opponents want GMOs banned, others say foods whose DNA has been changed needs to at least be labeled.^[15] The current scientific consensus is that genetically modified foods are safe.^[16]

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.^[17][18] CTV News reported the number of participants to be 200,000;^[6] the New York Times reported "hundreds of thousands".^[19] March organizers said 2 million people participated.^[15][20]

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."^[15][17][21]

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.^[2][22]

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:^[23]

• The stated belief that GM foods can adversely affect human health, causing "cancer, infertility and birth defects"^[24]
• 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.^[25] According to CBS news, "The provision protects genetically modified seeds from litigation suits over health risks posed by [GMO] crops' consumption".^[26] On the day of the protests, WFTS-TV in Tampa, Florida, reported that protesters were calling for the bill's repeal.^[27] 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.^[28][29] 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".^[30]

Media coverage

The protests were covered by news outlets including ABC News,^[31] the Associated Press,^[8] The Washington Post,^[32] The Los Angeles Times,^[17] USA Today,^[33] and CNN^[15] (in the United States), and Russia Today^[34] and The Guardian^[35] (outside the United States).

Kojo Livingstone wrote in the Louisiana Weekly that "much of the mainstream media was sympathetic to" Monsanto.^[36] Joseph Bachman, writing in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, questioned what he saw as a lack of mainstream media coverage: "a global protest involving millions of people must be newsworthy, right?"^[37] Radio host Thom Hartmann, in an opinion piece called "So Much For The Liberal Media", compared what he saw as scant coverage of the protests to the greater media attention garnered by small Tea Party rallies.^[38]

Monsanto and industry response

Prior to the march, Monsanto's CEO Hugh Grant had said that petitioners wanted to block others from choosing more affordable food options, thus being guilty of "elitism".^[39]

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.^[8] 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.^[40]

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 "[G]enetically modified crops are the most tested and regulated crops, and the scientific consensus about their safety is overwhelming."^[41][42]

Future plans

March Against Monsanto organizer Tami Canal said she was surprised by the viral response and plans to continue raising awareness.^[9] MAM joined forces with similar GMO protest groups, including "Moms Across America" and "Occupy Monsanto", and have planned another other march to coincide with World Food Day on October 12, 2013.^{[9][36][43][44]}

See also

• Millions Against Monsanto

References

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