Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join a worldwide protest against the multinational biotech and agribusiness corporation Monsanto with rallies to be held in as many as 46 countries in various parts of the world.
22 May 2016
Over 400 activists marched in Mexico’s capital, Mexico City, to protest Monsanto and genetically modified crops. The protesters at the rally, which was backed by Greenpeace and several other civil organizations promoting organic food, carried signs reading “Monsanto, get out of Mexican corn,” and “Without corn there’s no country.”
Supporters of Argentina’s left-wing Autodeterminación y Libertad [Self-determination and Freedom] party participated in the global march against Monsanto.
Hundreds of protesters marched through central Amsterdam waving anti-Monsanto banners.
Over a hundred protestors took to the streets of Quebec to join the global march against the biotech giant for the fourth year in a row. The year`s event was held under the slogan “Stronger than Monsanto!”"It is true that these are companies that are extremely powerful. But we want to remind the Quebec government that it is it who has the power,” said rally`s organizer Ariane Gagnon-Légaré, as cited by Québec Hebdo.
21 May 2016
Thousands-strong march against Monsanto is held in the Swiss city of Basel.
Massive rallies are held in various locations across China targeting not only Monsanto, but also Syngenta – a Swiss-based agribusiness corporation that also produces biocides and GMO seeds. Chinese demonstrators showed up at Monsanto Beijing HQ to submit their demands, according to the witness reports.
Monsanto is committed to making “a more balanced meal accessible for everyone,” the company claimed in a statement it sent to RT in response to the worldwide protests against the GMO giant. “Our goal is to help farmers do this in a more sustainable way using fewer resources and having a smaller impact on the environment,” the statement added. It also noted that it is “important” to the company that people who “have different points of view on these topics” are able to “express and share them.”
Many Puerto Ricans are taking part in the march against Monsanto in New York.
More people continue to join the rally against the GMO giant in New York, according to witness reports suggesting that a “huge and loud crowd” is marching along the streets.
RT’s Caleb Maupin reports on March against Monsanto live from New York.
Massive protests against Monsanto continue in Toronto, Canada, where demonstrators have brought a tractor to the rally.
Protests against Monsanto have kicked off in a number of cities across the US. Dozens of people are taking part in the demonstration in New York, while hold up placards reading “Stop Monsanto” and “Ban Glyphosate.” At the same time, only about 50 people showed up at a protest in Denver, according to the witness reports.
On May 16, a new study conducted jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation said that Glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller brand is “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet.” On May 18, it was revealed that two people on the UN panel that ruled that Glyphosate is “unlikely” to cause cancer have ties to groups that have accepted over $1 million from Monsanto and another industry group representing agrochemical giants.
Ghana joins the global march against Monsanto.
In January, the American city of Seattle sued Monsanto over allegations that the agrochemical giant polluted the Lower Duwamish River and city drainage pipes. The lawsuit claimed that the industrialized Lower Duwamish River was contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs have been detected in 82 percent of drainage pipes in the Lower Duwamish drainage basin. The chemicals are associated with cancer, nervous system illness and reproductive illnesses in humans, and can lead to the destruction of fish habitats. Similar lawsuits against Monsanto were filed by the cities of San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley and San Diego in California, as well as the Washington State city of Spokane.
Scientific studies have linked the chemicals in Monsanto's biocides to Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and cancer. In March 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer announced that Roundup, the most used herbicide in the world, is a "probable carcinogen."
Rallies against Monsanto are also being staged in South Korea, Taiwan and South Africa.
Protests against Monsanto are starting in Canada and Puerto Rico.
In London, a march against Monsanto was held in solidarity with marches protesting against corporate power in the food industry.
In Frankfurt, the rally on Romer Square in the Old City ended with an improvised live music concert, while in Paris some demonstrators performed a drum show.
In Paris, people joining the march against Monsanto are gathering at the Place de la République.
In the French city of Nantes, about 1,000 people gathered in the city center, demanding a ban on pesticides and GMOs, local media report. In Dijon, hundreds marched through the historical part of the city, holding banners that read, “No to the toxic world of Monsanto” and “Nature and progress.”
This is the fourth annual march against Monsanto. The first such event took place in 2013 and garnered more than 2 million protesters from 52 nations. Similar numbers were reported for last year's demonstrations.
An RT France crew is following the rally against Monsanto in Paris live via Periscope.
Monsanto has responded to RT with an official statement in regard to the march, in which the company says it is “committed to having an open dialogue about food and agriculture.”
The giant’s goal “is to help farmers [produce food] in a more sustainable way using fewer resources and having a smaller impact on the environment,” the statement adds, stressing that “people have different points of view on these topics, and it’s important that they’re able to express and share them.”
In France, large police forces have been deployed to the streets to maintain order during the marches.
In Loirent, France, 2,000 people have reportedly joined the rally against Monsanto with hundreds also marching in Rennes.
Hundreds of people are marching through the streets of Frankfurt, Germany. Some are holding banners calling for Monsanto to be tried in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Massive rallies against Monsanto have already started in France and Germany, with thousands of people taking to the streets to show their discontent with the GMO giant’s policies.
The organizers of the event say they want to raise people’s awareness about the fact that Monsanto’s products are harmful both to the environment and human health, while its policies are aimed at forging a monopoly over the world’s food supply.
“Take to the streets to show the world and Monsanto that we won’t take these injustices quietly. We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That’s why we March Against Monsanto,” a statement published on the official website of the event says.