San Diego, CA – People assembled across the globe, May 20, to protest the corporate chemical behemoth Monsanto. These demonstrations are an annual event, facilitated by the organization March Against Monsanto, and organized at the grassroots level by concerned people. One such local protest was in sunny Temecula, California, known for its own booming small farming sector. People from San Diego and Riverside counties came together in 90-degree heat to show their discontent with the industrial agribusiness giant.

“Monsanto is putting small farmers out of business,” said Gary Lotspeich, a demonstrator who is also a former budget officer for the California Department of Water Resources. He was referring to Monsanto’s prohibition on seed saving. The seed saving ban forces farmers to buy new seeds each season because of the patent on genetically modified crops.

“Yeah, small farmers are struggling anyway,” added Hanna Alfaddaghi, a Cal-Poly Pomona student in the agricultural studies program. “Monsanto sends employees out to test farmers’ seeds for their patented genes and sue them out of business.”

In fact, Monsanto collected $23 million from small farmers for patent infringement by 2014. Farmers were forced to pay an average of $412,000, even if the infringement was the result of natural cross-pollination carried by insects and wind.

Monsanto is most infamous for the toxic chemical Agent Orange, used to defoliate large swaths of forest during the Vietnam War. The corporation was caught falsifying data on the amounts of toxic ingredients in Agent Orange, including PCB and dioxin. Yet Vietnam veterans overwhelmingly report devastating side effects from exposure to the chemical and many Vietnamese are still suffering from residual effects to this day, including many birth defects.

Monsanto was part of chemical warfare again under the U.S. Plan Colombia. U.S. military contractors flew over and sprayed Monsanto’s Roundup Ultra on poor peasants’ crops in Colombia, as part of the U.S. dirty war. Poor peasants were forced to abandon their land as the U.S. sprayed in areas under the control of FARC rebels, while wealthy landowners were largely untouched.

Monsanto is also an example of the revolving door between private industry and the U.S. government. Monsanto employees take jobs at the FDA and EPA, setting policy in the company’s favor regarding genetic modification and acceptable levels of toxicity. Under George W. Bush, Monsanto associates filled the office of Attorney General, Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and even Defense. One can only speculate as to how much data on the harmful effects of its toxic products like Roundup Ultra is concealed through such conflicts of interest.

Monsanto is monopolizing the seed and pesticide markets through its patents on genetically modified commercial crops. This not only impacts domestic farmers, but also overseas in India, Asia and South America. Monsanto will certainly be the subject of further public actions and demonstrations because of these destructive practices.

#SanDiegoCA #PeoplesStruggles #Protest #EnvironmentalJustice #Monsanto

Tampa FL – Over 200 people gathered in downtown Tampa’s Lykes Gaslight Park, May 23, to rally against Monsanto and march in support of fair labeling practices. Protesters held signs saying “Hell no GMOs,” “We are not a science experiment,” and “Stop eating cancer.” The crowd chanted, “Wendy’s and Micky D’s, stop using GMOs please.”

The crowd listened to speakers talk about the importance of honest labeling practices and healthy, sustainable agriculture after some time of sign making and petition signing. A large contingent of the organizers as well as the marchers was dressed as honeybees. Speakers reminded the crowd of how Monsanto’s practices are designed to make more profits for the big agriculture companies.

The crowd marched down Kennedy Boulevard for about a mile before turning back and ending at the park.

Marisol Marquez, of Raices in Tampa summed up why she was marching, “Connecting the dots between what U.S. consumers are purchasing, that comes from places like Colombia, and how the workers are being exploited there, is why I am here today. Monsanto products are used to the destroy crops of poor farmers in Colombia. Stop U.S. war in Colombia!”

#TampaFL #EnvironmentalJustice #RaicesEnTampa #Monsanto #MarchAgainstMonsanto

Salt Lake City, UT – Over 200 activists and community members gathered at the state capitol, May 24, to join with cities across the country by rallying against the Monsanto Corporation. People assembled on the steps of the capitol despite the rain to listen to a number of speakers including Craig Bowden, Melanie Widerburg-Zucker, Justin Danneman, Lorena Apgar Hansen and Jonathan Hansen. People spoke of the effects that Monsanto has across the globe and locally on families and communities.

The keynote speaker for the event was former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Anderson gave a fiery speech on the effects of corporate interests in the U.S. and nailed former Monsanto VP and lobbyist Michael Taylor who is now head of the FDA. Anderson stated, “We don’t need a government of the rich, we need a government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Musicians Michael Cundick and Josh Blakesley also performed for the crowd.

Gregory Lucero of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization was passing out a Fight Back! commentary describing Monsanto’s role in the U.S. dirty war in Colombia. Lucero said, “The U.S. government has spent over $8 billion since the year 2000 on war in Colombia. Monsanto is the company contracted by the U.S. military to spray Roundup chemicals on Colombian peasants’ crops under the guise of a 'war on drugs', decimating the countryside. This contributes to hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Colombia. We need to support Colombian farmers and say, 'No more Monsanto fumigations. No to U.S. war in Colombia!' We’re out here to show our solidarity with the Colombian people.”

The crowd then took to the streets in a militant manner, despite a police presence, marching from the capitol to the County Building. The large group raised their signs and banners as they walked through traffic chanting “Monsanto against the wall, no more GMO’s at all” and “Monsanto no more, we won’t fund your secret war!” Protest leaders ended the protest with calls for the people of Salt Lake City to continue organizing and fighting back.

#SaltLakeCityUT #Colombia #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #USImperialism #Monsanto #MarchAgainstMonsanto #GMO

Miami, FL – About 400 people gathered downtown here, May 24, as part of a global day of action to “March Against Monsanto.” Activists and concerned families, young and old, met outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center Metro Mover with signs and banners, chanting, “Save our farmers, save our seeds, listen to the people's needs!”

Those in attendance called on the corporate food monopoly to stop creating and selling genetically modified organisms (GMOs), for the U.S. government to place labels on all genetically modified foods and for the food giant to stop forcing farmers throughout the world to buy its seeds and products.

“While the health concerns regarding GMOs are legitimate, what is worse is the disastrous impact Monsanto has on people and workers throughout the world,” said Pamela Maldonado, a lead organizer with the anti-war group POWIR. “In countries like Colombia, where I was born, Monsanto and the U.S. continue to instigate violence and repression.”

Monsanto is a powerful arm of the U.S. empire, especially in Colombia where the U.S. government and Monsanto work in tandem to destroy the lands and farms of small farmers in that country. The majority of farms destroyed by Monsanto's poisons are those owned by farmers living in areas where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have a strong presence. So the toxic chemicals created by Monsanto are being used to further U.S. domination over the people of Colombia.

Hundreds of people marched along Biscayne Boulevard, beginning first on the sidewalk and later taking to the streets chanting, “Hell no, GMO! Hell no, GMO!” Onlookers took part in the chanting and some even joined in the march, as passing cars honked in solidarity. As people marched under the hot South Florida sun, they held signs that read, “I am not a science experiment,” and “Support farmers and workers! End Monsanto's monopoly over the food industry!”

The march lasted two hours, as protesters wound their way throughout busy Biscayne Bay. Upon returning to the Metro Mover stop, protesters listened to speeches by local community members and political hopefuls.

#MiamiFL #Monsanto #MarchAgainstMonsanto #GMO

It is also important to know that Monsanto makes war in Colombia and it needs to stop. Monsanto is making the lives of poor peasant farmers in Colombia miserable, forcing hundreds of thousands to abandon their small plots of land by killing the crops on which they survive. Monsanto participates directly in the U.S. war on Colombia’s poor peasant farmers by providing the deadly “Ultra” versions of Roundup that is used to destroy their crops.

The U.S. government is conducting a war in Colombia and has spent over $8 billion on it since year 2000. Started under Clinton and Gore, the U.S. Southern Command directs the war against left-wing rebel groups and is in charge of the Colombian Armed Forces. However the involvement of Monsanto is less well known. The U.S. counterinsurgency war includes chemical warfare, in the form of private military companies like DynCorp International flying over and spraying the crops and fields of poor peasant farmers in areas where the rebel insurgency is strongest. Farmers living in areas where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are well organized are way more likely to have their crops sprayed with Monsanto products than the areas under the control of large landowners, narco-traffickers, or multi-national mineral corporations.

Monsanto is a war profiteer. Monsanto is the company contracted by the U.S. military for the glyphosate sprayed on Colombian peasants’ crops. It is the same chemical as Roundup in much, much stronger concentrations. Monsanto makes huge profits from these U.S. military contracts. It has been going on since at least 1978.

The Roundup is sprayed from planes, often drifts wide of its target, kills all sorts of crops and pollutes the ponds, lakes and rivers of Colombia. The first plants to grow back are the hardy coca plants – the original excuse for spraying, but food crops and fruit trees are ruined and do not return so easily. Thousands of people suffer skin and respiratory problems, there are reports of asthmatic children dying and animals poisoned and killed. The lives of tens of thousands are ruined on a yearly basis.

The U.S. ‘war on drugs’ in Colombia is a lie. There is no change in drug production after decades. The aerial spraying is part of U.S. war strategy. Monsanto’s Roundup being sprayed targets and hurts the poor peasant farmers in rebellion. It harms the base of support of the rebels and gives Colombia the largest displaced person population in the world – more than in Iraq during most of the U.S. war and occupation. It also harms the ‘lungs of the world’ – the Amazon forests are being poisoned and forests are being cut down as farmers move to new land. Here at home, the phony war on drugs imprisons hundreds of thousands of African American, Chicano and working class youth, punishing instead of treating or rehabilitating, and making them second-class citizens for life.

Monsanto delivers nothing but poverty, misery, and death to Colombian farmers, children and their animals. We need to oppose Monsanto selling Roundup to be sprayed on a mass scale in Colombia. Currently, the Colombian government wants to end the program, because it does not work. The U.S. government demands it continue. We need to support Colombian farmers and say: “No more Monsanto fumigations! No to U.S. war in Colombia!”

#GrandRapidsMI #AntiwarMovement #Colombia #USImperialism #Monsanto #RoundupReady #glyphosate #Americas

People demonstrated as part of the wider March Against Monsanto movement, an international campaign. Protesters raised health concerns about consuming genetically modified organisms (GMOs). For example, most of Monsanto's seeds, including soy, corn, alfalfa and cotton, contain glyphosate resistance – a chemical used to combat weeds while protecting the crops. Scientists are debating the health and safety of GMOs, while Monsanto attempts to stifle discussion.

Frank Bessinger of Veterans for Peace stated, “The chemicals used by Monsanto are dangerous to workers. Many migrant workers die from exposure to Monsanto products.” In contrast, laborers working directly for Monsanto wear biohazard suits to avoid direct exposure to chemicals declared safe by the company. Monsanto also sells the strong chemicals used by the U.S. military for spraying fields in Colombia. U.S. planes spray wide areas to kill all the crops grown by poor farmers in rebel areas of Colombia. Glyphosate burns farmers’ and animals’ skin, leaving rashes and ulcers, and some children reportedly suffer asthma attacks.

Some at the march talked about ending the super-exploitation of the migrant farm worker by Monsanto. In 2012 a group of migrant workers in Texas sued Monsanto over poor labor and housing conditions. The farm workers were paid significantly less than the U.S. federal minimum wage. They were also lived in inadequate housing and were forced to pay for it. Farm workers claim the company promised free accommodations.

According to Daniel Moss, one of the lead organizers of March Against Monsanto and a member of the Revolutionary People's Union of Savannah, said, “The goal of March Against Monsanto is to raise awareness of industrialized food and to encourage people to support their local farmers.”

When asked about public awareness concerning the company’s exploitation of migrant workers, Moss said, “We have not made enough progress...but we have begun to move in that direction. The system that Monsanto is part of can only continue through the exploitation of the migrant worker and because the U.S. government supports it.”

In March of 2013 President Barack Obama signed the Farmer Assurance Provision, often referred to as the “Monsanto Protection Act” because the bill protects Monsanto from litigation. This is the third protest in Savannah against Monsanto and organizers say they will be back again next spring.

#SavannahGA #EnvironmentalJustice #Monsanto