Thousands Of German Protesters To U.S. GMO Ag: ‘We’re Fed Up!’
A massive march occurred in Germany protesting GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and other harmful farming practices from the United States yesterday.
The massive march in Berlin saw over 50,000 protesters and included participation from over 120 different organizations including farmers, ethical consumers, and activists who want to send a message loud and clear that they do not want GMOs and American farming practices in their country.
The “We Are Fed Up!” demonstration was in protest to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States and mass farming technologies and bio-engineering companies like Monsanto. In addition to their protest against GMOs, they are also protesting farming practices popular in the United States such as the heavy use of toxic chemicals, frequent antibiotic injections for animals, and chemical meat treatments which are trying to make their way into countries in Europe, like Germany.
The protests came a week after the provisional text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was released, which has met with a lot of opposition and coincided with the beginning of Green Week, a major national agricultural fair that takes place in Germany each year. Organizer of the anti-GMO rally, Jochen Fritz, spoke to media about their stiff opposition to the TTIP.
“The EU-USA trade agreement TTIP only serves global corporations, and will take away the means of existence from many farms here and across the world. Eating is political. Every single decision I make about what to buy is determined by how the animals are kept, or what grows in our fields. And I can make sure that I support the farmers and not the big agricultural industry corporations.”
GMOs and other destructive farming practices are meeting with a growing body of opposition, as people around the world work to ban GMOs and reform modern farming practices to make them safe, clean, and healthy. Local officials in Hawaii are currently engaged in a legal battle with GMO giant Monsanto after they passed legislation banning the cultivation of GMO crops, as many other state and local governments try to pass legislation that will either ban GMOs in their territories or require labeling of products containing GMOs and Russia recently banned all GMOs in the nation, stating that they planned to pursue an organic farming model instead. GMOs have also been under fire in India, where hundreds of farmers have committed suicide after GMOs ruined their family farming business and GMO giant Monsanto has been called the most evil company in the world.
[Image: RT]
