GMW: GM corn protesters send message

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GMW: GM corn protesters send message

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Mon, 1 Aug 2005 11:46:51 +0100

 

 

 

 

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EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE: " They will set up a monopoly situation here, " he

said. " It's like in India or South America. People from there say

sooner or later that you lose your farm because you can't compete

anymore. I

don't want that so I'm going to throw them out. " - small farmer, Martin

Piprek, talking about Monsanto

 

For more on the action:

http://www.gendreck-weg.de

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GM corn protesters send message

Deutsche Welle-WORLD english

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1664782,00.html

 

The issue of genetically-modified corn strikes a nerve with many

Europeans. To vent their indignation about the lifting of a moratorium,

ecology campaigners protested at a GM cornfield near Berlin.

 

On Sunday, up to 400 ecology campaigners from western Europe flocked to

a small village some 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside of Berlin to join

forces for a protest action which they called " voluntary field

liberation. " Their plan was to symbolically destroy some genetically

modified

(GM) corn in a field outside of the village Hohenstein.

 

One organizer, Michael Grolm, said the protesters did not come to

destroy the crops in the field, but the provocative nature of the name,

directed towards a farmer who is growing & nbsp;GM corn on his land, forced

police to counter with a strong presence. According to Grolm, the large

number of police officers needed to protect the relatively small parcel

of land meant the protest was a success.

 

In his words, farmers and companies who want to propagate the

advantages of GM grains, will have a " difficult time " if so many

police officers

are needed to protect farmland where GM crops are supposed to be grown.

 

Protesters see two-fold danger

 

[image caption: " Opponents feel that not enough research has been done

to assure that genetically modified grain, here soy beans, is safe " ]

 

Ecology proponents and anti-globalization protesters showed up from

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France to demonstrate against

what they believe to be a two-fold danger brought on by an increased

usage

of GM crops.

 

Some were enraged by the fact that the cornfield directly neighbors a

natural park, calling it a provocation.

 

" It isn't clear what genetically modified grains do, " said Martin

Piprek, a local farmer who spearheaded the campaign in Hohenstein.

 

Piprek said that he has heard of studies that some species crucial to

ecosystems, such as butterflies, have been dying at much higher rates

than usual when farmers grow GM crops in their fields.

 

While some demonstrators were concerned about the possible health

hazards and/or effects to human genetic material, others saw the

spread of

GM corn in another light, namely the light of bright money.

 

" Many people concentrate on the food aspect, " said Christoph Asseuer.

" I'd rather concentrate on the fact of a monopoly that a certain

corporation holds on the seeds (...) The variety of seeds is in great

danger

of being throttled by the attempt to monopolize certain seeds and take

certain seeds out of the market. "

 

Monsanto bears responsibility

 

Asseuer didn't specifically name which company he was talking about,

but the one bearing the brunt of attacks from most GM opponents is

Monsanto.

 

As a small farmer, Martin Piprek also saw sinister motives behind

Monsanto's GM marketing.

 

" They will set up a monopoly situation here, " he said. " It's like in

India or South America. People from there say sooner or later that you

lose your farm because you can't compete anymore. I don't want that so

I'm going to throw them out. "

 

Hardy Graupner

 

 

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