Friends,
 Whether you like it or not, chances are Monsanto contaminated the food you ate today with chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Monsanto controls much of the world's food supply at the expense of food democracy. "There is something wrong when a chemical manufacturer, the same company who made Agent Orange, controls the U.S. food supply," says Jaye Crawford, a member of the Genetic Crimes Unit in Atlanta, Georgia, that has planned a week of events as part of "Occupy Monsanto."
View a map of Occupy Monsanto events happening across the country on and around Sep. 17.
In St. Louis, Missouri, a major anti-GMO conference will take place in the same location as the 12th International Symposium on GMO Safety -- and on the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. Barbara Chicherio, a lead organizer of the anti-GMO confernece, says, "Monsanto's push to control agriculture and what people are eating poses a great threat not only to consumers in the U.S., but to farmers and communities throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia."
Part of FOR's focus on demilitarizing life and land involves fighting for environmental justice and sustainability as a key piece in long-term social justice, and our Statement of Purpose pledges our "reverence for all creation." We see the struggle for food justice as intertwined with those of racial justice and ending militarism. From the Great Plains to Colombia to Afghanistan, we see how multinational corporations' profits get in the way of access to healthy food and sustainable agriculture, and ultimately lead to increased conflict, violence, and war.
Read more about the Sep. 17 Occupy Monsanto events. If you'd like to get involved, find an event near you, or contact gcu@occupy-monsanto.com to schedule one.
 The goals of the nationwide events are twofold. First, to influence the national discussion in the context of the presidential election, as the president has wide latitude over the Food and Drug Administration and consequently U.S. food policy. Second, to support initiatives like California Proposition 37, which would require the labeling of genetically modified foods. (In the past, California's large economy has often been a catalyst for environmental regulation elsewhere in the country.)
Many people of faith are participating in the Occupy Monsanto events out of spiritual conviction. As a supporter of FOR, we encourage you to bring faith-based signs to the Occupy Monsanto event you join, and contact religious publications -- such as Jewish Week or Presbyterian Times -- to explain why your faith calls you to participate.
Thank you for helping us work to create a better world!
Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation |
