PD coverage of March against Monsanto in Santa Rosa
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Dozens rally against agricultural company Monsanto in Santa Rosa
BY CLARK MASON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
May 23, 2015, 9:29PM
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More than 150 demonstrators took to the streets of Santa Rosa on Saturday in a “March Against Monsanto,” part of an international event intended to draw attention to genetically engineered foods that they said pose health and environmental risks.
The demonstration was part of a campaign of similar peaceful protests planned in more than 400 cities in 38 countries against the agricultural biotechnology company, which specializes in genetically engineered seeds and herbicides.
Organizers said they focused on Monsanto because they view its products as a threat to organic farming, native plants and even bee colonies.
Led by the Hubbub Club marching band, the marchers went on about a 2-mile route from Old Courthouse Square to the South A and Brown Street neighborhoods, carrying signs with such slogans as “Save our seeds, Save our bees, No Monsanto,” and chanting “Listen up corporate dudes, we don’t want your frankenfoods.”
Back at Old Courthouse Square, the crowd was exhorted by speakers including Frank Egger, a former seven-time Fairfax mayor, to help pass a Sonoma County ban on genetically modified organisms, similar to ones in neighboring Marin and Mendocino, as well as Trinity and Santa Cruz counties.
“We want a North Coast GMO-free zone. We’re missing Sonoma,” he said.
Marin County, he said, has more than 40,000 acres in organic cultivation. “The same thing can happen here in Sonoma County,” he said, adding that if the Board of Supervisors doesn’t place it on the ballot, proponents should.
In 2005, Sonoma County voters rejected a ballot measure that would have banned certain GMO products for 10 years, ostensibly to allow more time for testing.
The Food and Drug Administration does not require genetically modified foods to carry a label, and attempts to change that at the federal level have failed. A California ballot proposition to require labeling of GMO foods went down to a narrow defeat in 2012.
Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified.
Critics of GMOs say they have been linked to health problems ranging from allergies to cancer, and that babies, in particular, are at risk of getting sick.
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Re: PD coverage of March against Monsanto in Santa Rosa
Though the PD article did have its limitations, following are some of the positive things that it contributed:
1. The headline of the print edition was "Anti-Monsanto rally in SR part of global effort."
2. It was on the front page of the Empire section and was a long article that contextualized the marches "in more than 400 cities in 38 countries.
3. Slogans like "Save our seeds. Save our bees. No Monsanto" were quoted.
4. It quoted Frank Egger giving the successful history of GMO legislation in Marin, Mendocino, Trinity, and Santa Cruz counties.
5. It connected Monsanto to the making of the toxic Agent Orange.
6. The recent WHO finding that the active ingredient in Roundup is "probably carcinogenic to humans" was mentioned.
7. It had the following great quote about Roundup, which "'causes cancer in animals and humans and persists in the soil,' said Barton Stone, 77, an organic farmer who lives near Occidental." Other good quotes followed.
All in all, I think it was a good article. I appreciate Emerald and Occupy Sonoma County for working so hard to get so many people into the streets. I appreciate Karen for asking me to be one of the speakers. My focus was an attempt to re-brand Big Wine as having created a Wine Empire here, which uses lots of Roundup, which is hazardous to our natural Redwood Empire.
March On!
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by sealwatcher:
"DOZENS" ?!!! Er, a bit of media bias? And then they showed the before or after march, a bit of celebration rather than the justifiable anger of the people in other venues. Or is just Sonoma County?
Re: PD coverage of March against Monsanto in Santa Rosa
I have found the writer of that article, Clark Mason, to be a warm, open human being on other occasions. Good man to contact at the PD.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:
Though the PD article did have its limitations, following are some of the positive things that it contributed:...
Re: PD coverage of March against Monsanto in Santa Rosa
Our count of the crowd was 300 people from beginning to end. Some people stayed behind at Courthouse Square and didn't march so they were included in our total count.
We are happy with the article. The purpose of protest is education and raising the issues to the public.
The march is part of a larger ongoing campaign to get rid of GMOs. Our next GMO event is a bilingual teach-in on September 21. Please join us at our next GMO Campaign meeting on Monday, June 22 at 7 PM at the Peace & Justice Center, 467 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa. We will be evaluating the March Against Monsanto event at that meeting.
https://OccupySonomaCounty.org
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by sealwatcher:
"DOZENS" ?!!! Er, a bit of media bias? And then they showed the before or after march, a bit of celebration rather than the justifiable anger of the people in other venues. Or is just Sonoma County?
