Protesters Block Monsanto in the Netherlands - Demanding End to GMOs

Banners were posted with the message "Imagine, monopoly of food, poisonous agriculture, The World according to ... Monsanto"

File photo of a GM food protest in The Netherlands

(BERGSCHENHOEK / SALEM) - Protesters in the Netherlands shut down a Monsanto seed plant by forming a blockade. About 50 members of the action group ‘Roundup Monsanto’ showed up at the at 6 o’clock Monday morning, demanding they stop patenting seeds and other living organisms.

The company, De Ruiter Seeds was bought by Monsanto in 2008. Monsanto and other agro-chemical companies are lobbying the Dutch government and the EU for legislative changes that would make it easier for large companies to control the seed market, along with food production and supply^[1].

Monsanto, a former chemical company, owns 23 percent of the worldwide market of commercial seeds. The company bought up three large internationally active seed companies in the last five years in the Netherlands: De Ruiter Seeds, Western Seeds, and Seminis.

Now, Monsanto dominates the global market for vegetable seeds and seedlings.

Monsanto is also known for its production of Saccharin, Astroturf, agent orange, dioxin, sulphuric acid, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), plastics and synthetic fabrics, research on uranium for the Manhattan Project that led to the construction of nuclear bombs, styrene monomer, and an endless line of pesticides and herbicides (Roundup) and rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone)^[2].

Now they’ve cornered the market on the global food supply with their genetically engineered corn, soy, sugar beets, and cotton, with more to come. "Farmers and vegetable growers are becoming increasingly dependent on these big seed companies and patented seeds will make the situation even worse," said Flip Vonk, an organic farm employee at the protest.

Currently, several countries have banned or have moratoriums on the cultivation of Genetically Modified foods including: France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Greece, India, Ireland, Bulgaria, Pakistan, New Zealand and several counties throughout California^[3].

It is estimated that chemical agriculture is responsible for a quarter to a third of the release of all the greenhouse gases. Over 80 percent of the cultivated GMOs are pesticide resistant, the remaining 20 percent produce insecticide inside the plant. Research has shown this type of food production is extremely hazardous to people, nature, and the climate. In addition, farmers in India say GM seeds require as much as 50 percent more water to cultivate and the pesticides turn their soil from a butter like texture to rocky hard clumps of dirt. (Watch the documentary below “How to Save the World” below.)

Genetic engineering has been touted as the answer to the global food crisis, although despite 15 years of cultivation, genetically manipulated crops have not been shown to increase yields, In fact, they have contributed to over a hundred thousand farmer suicides in India, due to failed crops^[4].

"The food problem requires completely different solutions. We need to drastically change course, away from large-scale chemical agriculture, towards local food production in harmony with nature, without pesticides and without genetically manipulated crops. A world without Monsanto is a good step in that direction," according to Miranda de Boer from 'Roundup Monsanto'.

Meanwhile back in the Netherlands, protesters closed off two main access doors at the Monsanto plant. Banners were posted with the message "Imagine, monopoly of food, poisonous agriculture, The World according to ... Monsanto". In addition, employees and customers are greeted with coffee, tea, and background information on arrival.

Wake up America and smell the GMO coffee! References:

^[1] GM Food Watch - gmwatch.org

^[2] Everything you never wanted to know about Monsanto - mindfully.org

^[3] Countries with GMO bans - from Wikipedia ^[4] Documentary: “How to Save the World”

Read previous articles by April Scott, about Monsanto & GM Food

Apr-26-2010 : GM Food... Feeding the Hungry or Population Control? - April Scott Salem-News.com

Mar-06-2010: Giving Away the Farm... Sugar Beet Farmers Await Federal Decision on GM Crops - April Scott Salem-News.com

Mar-01-2010: While We Were Sleeping...GM Food and the Brink of No Return - April Scott Salem-News.com

Feb-11-2010: India Says No to Cultivation of Genetically Modified Eggplant - April Scott Salem-News.com

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April Scott has been an avid writer since she learned how to spell. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology with a minor in Radio-Television from Eastern Washington University. Her media career began at KXLY (Spokane, Wa) in 1996. She produced several popular talk shows on AM 920 including “All About Crime” with host Mark Fuhrman. April also produced the highly successful Rick Miller show, while simultaneously developing a successful career in ad sales and copywriting for Rock 94.5, another KXLY station.