„Sow safe or don’t sow at all!”
Greenpeace action on Monsanto ge maize
Friday 6th of June, Netherlands, Today Greenpeace activists sowed a mixture of organic field-flowers on a Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) maize field trial plot, in Lelystad, the Netherlands. Greenpeace activists took peaceful direct action today to decontaminate the ge maize field before flowering. Greenpeace is a firm opponent of these trials, as GE maize has unpredictable effects on human health and environment. Greenpeace is calling the Dutch Government to keep Dutch agriculture free from GE crops.
„These trials are Monsanto’s way to provoke any public resistance against GE crops”, says Herman van Bekkem, campaigner GMO at Greenpeace. „It’s beyond belief that the Dutch government allows this American company to experiment with their risky crops, while Monsanto’s products have a long record of causing harm to mankind and the environment. GM crops once released into the environment can spread into nature and cause contamination of conventional and organic crops.[1]
While in Europe criticism on GE increases, experimenting with these hazardous crops continues in the Netherlands.[2] Scientists of the Dutch scientific advisory board for ge recently published that these crops don’t fit in to the Dutch agricultural system.[3]
Yesterday European environment ministers have called for a reform of the EFSA risk-analysis on GMOs
Monsanto’s ge-maize NK603 has been manipulated to make it immune to Roundup, Monsanto’s own herbicide. The cultivation of GE maize crops belong to an outdated model of industrial agriculture, that one of large scale monocultures, that demands an increase of herbicides use, leads to exhaustion of farmland, damage the biodiversity, cause deforestation and pose a threat to the existence of small agricultural communities around the world.
Greenpeace demands that Dutch government chooses for sustainable agriculture and bans ge crops. This is the only way to guarantee Dutch farmers, beekeepers[4] and consumers the freedom of choice for GE free production.
[1] See Greenpeace contamination report released this year http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org/ )
[2] The field trial in Lelystad is one of 4 locations where Monsanto was permitted to do their ge experiments. Also there are 5 different locations where the company Pioneer Hi-bred is allowed to do testing with similar ge-maize.
[3] This board (COGEM) has concluded in their report „Perspectives of ge-crops for sustainable agriculture”” (February 2008) that herbicide resistant crops such as NK603 don’t fit into the Dutch agricultural systems. Herbicide resistant crops only fit in large scale monocultures that lead to an increase of herbicides use and deforestation.
[4] Together with Greenpeace Netherlands several beekeepers, consumers and organic farmers have started a legal procedure against the field trials of Monsanto. Without waiting the judge decision Monsanto has decided to sow the ge maize. Bees take maize pollen to their hive to feed their larvae. Bees fly over great distances up to 10 kilometers. In this way honey becomes contaminated with ge maize pollen.
