The decision is very serious: The European Commission today gave the green light for GM potato .
Why serious? Explains it well Percy Schmeiser, who interviewed just a year ago in Milan. 78 year old Canadian, a symbol of the farmers who have rebelled against Monsanto and its unorthodox methods to force genetically modified seeds.
His story is one of thousands of small and medium farmers in the north as in the South, forced to accept the empire of a few multinational corporations without any benefit.
Beyond the potential health risks (studies on are still in progress), what alarms me most in the spread of genetically modified seeds is precisely the slavery that they cause and which is likely to bend mostly poor farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
To understand better, here is the story of the couple Schmeiser, as published in "Green News" March 20, 2009.
Do not repeat our mistakes
"I and my wife Louise have spent fifty years to select a seed rape suited to our region, in western Canada. But a bad day we received a complaint from Monsanto, which accused it of patent infringement. We understood that it was over half a century of work in smoke. " Who speaks and Percy Schmeiser, a farmer 78 year-old, famous worldwide for his fight against the colossus of GMOs. It's not just the elderly: a view, with that gentle, do not expect the fighting spirit that took him ten years around the world to launch
warnings about the consequences of the use of genetically modified seeds. In Italy came a few days ago, at the invitation of the society of biological Ecor NaturaSì. And his story is unbelievable. In 1996, Canada allows the introduction of four GM crops: corn, canola, soybeans and cotton. In '99, Monsanto's complaint for the first time Schmeiser. Percy, who was Mayor and also a member of provincial parliament, has not
escape and was sentenced to pay 170 thousand dollars (more than 300 thousand in legal costs): no matter how the genetically modified seeds have reached on its soil, even if with the wind, if there is patent infringement, and in addition you must pay all
harvest becomes the property of Monsanto.
Not satisfied, the corporation will complaint again requesting that Schmeiser pay his legal costs: one million dollars. The time
Court says no, because the corporation had made false statements in court. A year ago, the land of the two spouses is again contaminated. Schmeiser's case to make
Monsanto admits that this time their responsibilities and with a court settlement agrees to pay the costs of land reclamation. After ten years of struggle, a success.
"It was a victory not only for ourselves but for all the peasants of the world - says Percy -. We have created a precedent now the farmers know they have the right to ask
reclaiming their land. " The story does not end with their personal story: Percy Schmeiser complaint, thirteen years after the introduction of GMOs in Canada today, there are no more seeds.
The contamination has spread to plants of the same family and has even reached the honey. Even the agricultural economy has gone to hell, many foreign countries do not accept to buy their products. A real disaster. Not by chance the other required approvals for GM crops, rice, wheat, alfalfa and flax, have not been given. It is understood that the coexistence of GM and conventional seeds
is not possible. In the face of the promises made when they were allowed genetically modified organisms, which had "cost less,
to use less pesticides and produce more nutritious crops," it is noted that none of this is true: poor harvests of nutrients and pesticides increasingly strong and therefore the costs are soaring. Finally, the complaint of Percy is the ruthless methods of the multinational: "With advertising, Monsanto calls on farmers to report neighbors who could make use of GM crops without a license in exchange for promising
a leather jacket. In this way, each is wary and suspicious of their colleagues. When you buy from them, they sign a contract
in which we will not allow any case to Monsanto and not talk to the media in case of problems. Refer also to real letters of extortion.
we can write: "We believe that you cultivate GM soya without permission: If you want to avoid because you send us 100 thousand dollars."
The new danger is that today the multinational seed companies try to buy organic even around the world. In Canada it is increasingly difficult to find. "
Percy concludes with a warning: "As a grandmother I do not want to leave my grandchildren a legacy of land, air and water saturated with poisons. In '96 we were in Canada
unaware of the consequences of our choice. But now you do not. For this round the world saying: do not make our mistake. "
