1. GM wheat destroyed in Spain
2. Sainsbury’s misleading media over GM milk blockade
3.Essential Contacts and Reading for Sainsbury's Milk Campaign
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1. GM wheat destroyed in Spain
For pictures and a description in Spanish of an action last Saturday morning, 3 July, in which a field of GM wheat was destroyed by La Plataforma Transgenics Fora! see: http://www.biotechimc.org/or/2004/07/3147.shtml
La Plataforma Transgenics Fora! is made up of a large number of groups and people from all over Catalonia who use direct action in order to stop the imposition of GM technologies.
They are calling for: - an end to GM research; - the location of GM fields to be made public; - Catalonia to be declared a GMO-free area.
More info: www.agrariamanresa.org/transgenics or www.barcelonaindymedia.org or www.canmasdeu.net
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2. Sainsbury’s misleading media over GM milk blockade http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/07/294268.html
Sainsbury's can't face truth about the depot blockades!! 07.07.2004 17:18
In 1999 the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reps from every African nation jointly condemned Monsanto's efforts to force GM on Africa. Monsanto urgently called on PR company Burston Marsteller to tackle the crisis. The advice to the whole industry was never to admit that African farmers and leaders opposed GM and to pretend that all the opposition originated from white, middle class Europeans - specifically Greenpeace - who were happy for African babies to die in the interest of their extremist ideology. The biotech industry and their allies have since then blamed every anti-GM protest in Africa and every protest by peasant farmers on Greenpeace. Sainsbury's are now pretending that the joint farmer and activist blockade of their depots was arranged by Greenpeace - see emailed statement below. Greenpeace seem impressed by the action but have had to tell dozens of journalists who called them that this was completely independent from them....
From: Parveen Johal
[mailto: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2004 2:06 PM
Subject: Statement
We're disappointed that Greenpeace has chosen to target us when this is clearly an industry issue. Overall all of our depots have responded very well in ensuring minimum disruption to service. Our milk does not contain GM ingredients. Milk is highly regulated and like all supermarkets, we are subject to stringent food safety controls. Our milk is sourced from British dairy farms that supply other UK supermarkets, like Tesco and Asda - as well as hotels, schools and hospitals. The Food Standards Agency has categorically stated that there is no evidence that milk from animals fed on GM crops contains any GM material.
To offer choice to our customers, we have launched a new milk from cows fed on non-GM feed which is now in over 100 stores.
A Mole
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re: Sainsbury's can't face truth about the depot blockades!!
07.07.2004 17:34
They also can't face the truth that Fair Farmgate Price protestors / farmers have got together with GM protestors as they failed to even admit that the blockades were also about the exploitation of farmers. Looks like they can't admit to the breadth of support for this campaign!
A Farmer
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3.Essential Contacts and Reading for Sainsbury's Milk Campaign
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/07/294268.html
05.07.2004 18:49
Members of the alliance challenging Sainsbury's milk policies include the following farming, science and activist groups:
FARM: The Independent Voice of Farmers www.farm.org.uk
FFA: Farmers For Action www.farmersforaction.org
FUW: Farmers Union of Wales www.fuw.org.uk
GEN: Genetic Engineering Network www.geneticsaction.org.uk
GFA: Genetic Food Alert This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I-SiS: Institute of Science in Society www.i-sis.org.uk
SFA: Small Farms Association www.small-farms-association.co.uk
SFFA: Small and Family Farms Alliance This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
WFA: Wholesome Food Association www.domainomania.com/wfa
KEY REPORTS AND PAGES FROM THESE AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS:
Joint Sainsbury's Milk Campaign leaflet:
www.geneticsaction.org.uk/resources/alliancesainsburys.pdf
A Rough Guide to the UK Farming Crisis:
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/agriculture/farmreport.pdf
What's wrong with supermarkets?
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/pages/whats_wrong_suprmkts.htm
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/profiles/food_supermarkets/supermarkets.pdf
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/profiles/food_supermarkets/supermarkets_leaflet.pd
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Breaking the Armlock: alliance of 14 farming, environmental and consumer organisations fighting supermarket exploitation:
www.breakingthearmlock.com
Genetically Modified Animal Feed:
www.togg.org.uk/resources/animal%20feed.pdf
Nine reasons why UK farmers should say NO to GM maize
www.farm.org.uk/FM_Content.aspx?ID=175
GM Crops: Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff:
www.farm.org.uk/documents/GMBrief.execsumm.pdf
Tackling the farming crisis - together:
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/newsletter/issue2/nl2ed.html
The National Farmers' Union: friend to big business, not to small farmers:
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/profiles/nfu/nfu.htm
GM Milk Can Be Ditched Overnight
www.farm.org.uk/FM_PopNews.aspx?id=97
Steps to a GM-Free Future for the UK Dairy Industry
www.small-farms-association.co.uk/htm/news.htm
Off Your Trolley?: The Politics of Shopping:
www.domainomania.com/wfa/trolley.html
Milk Prices:
www.milkprices.com
Small Farms Association calls for Moratorium on GM Crops
www.small-farms-association.co.uk/htm/news.htm
29.3.04 Environmentalists and FFA Work Together
www.farmersforaction.org/press_releases.htm
"Leading environmentalists and farmers representative bodies met on Saturday 27 March 2004 in Bristol to discuss the current situation surrounding the growing of GM crops in the UK and also the current serious situation regarding falling milk prices. It was decided at this meeting that a series of direct action campaigns would begin in early summer, the message to be sent being very clear - No to GM, the consumer does not want it and fair prices for farmers"
Farmers For Action: Dairy Industry News: www.farmersforaction.org/dairy.htm
FARM backs Farmers for Action www.farm.org.uk/FM_Content.aspx?ID=106 "Congratulations to Farmers for Action (FFA) for forcing discount supermarket, Lidl, to drop its plans to cut farmgate milk prices by 1.3p per litre. Farmers for Action's tried and tested tactic of blockading supermarket distribution depots paid off. farm members - and anyone else - can back up FFA's action and help ram home the message that farmers and consumers won't stand for farmgate prices below the cost of production by using farm's 'Fair Prices for Farmers & Consumers' stickers inside Lidl - and other supermarket - stores. FFA are also asking consumers to check up on the rumour that Lidl are importing milk from Poland to undercut UK dairy farmers. Please forward any evidence of such to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. For more information on Farmers for Action, visit their website www.farmersforaction.org "
Daisy the Cow