Over 50 Countries Will March Against Monsanto On October 12th
As the battle for mandatory GMO labeling draws to a close in Washington, anti-GMO activists from at least 50 nations will take to the streets to reclaim the food supply. The global March Against Monsanto will manifest itself as thousands of small marches in hundreds of cities around the world.
Tami Monroe Canal, founder of the March Against Monsanto (MAM), says she was inspired to start the movement out of concern for her two daughters. “Monsanto’s predatory business and corporate agricultural practices threatens their generation’s health, fertility and longevity. MAM supports a sustainable food production system. We must act now to stop GMOs and harmful pesticides,” she said in a press release.
Marchers say that GMOs are unsafe for human consumption, while Monsanto and other biotech companies claim there’s no nutritional difference between crops grown from genetically-modified seed and those that aren’t.
According to March Against Monsanto organizers, the scientifically established health risks of genetically-engineered foods include, but are not limited to: organ damage, sterility, infant mortality, birth defects, auto-immune conditions, allergies and increased cancer risks.
In an “Open Letter from World Scientists to All Governments Concerning Genetically Modified Organisms,” 828 scientists from 84 countries, called for immediate 5 year suspension of GMO crops in order to conduct “a comprehensive public enquiry of agriculture and food security for all.”
GMOs have been partially banned by Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Madeira, New Zealand, Peru, South America, Russia, France, Switzerland and Costa Rico. Sixty-four countries currently require GMOs to be labeled. Despite public pressure from within and without, the United States has yet to limit the sale of GMOs or require companies to identify genetically-modified ingredients on the label in any way.
That’s something March Against Monsanto participants want to change. The first March Against Monsanto occurred on May 25 of this year, and instead of the 3,000 participants Canal expected, there were an estimated 2 million.
Find a March Against Monsanto in a city near you.
Related on Organic Authority:
Top 21 Reasons To March Against Monsanto
Monsanto Protection Act Dies In The Senate
Image: March Against Monsanto
