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March against Monsanto feeds worries over what we eat

Concerns over food and crops sprouted into a modest but hardy grassroots rally as around 30 activists took part in the March against Monsanto movement Saturday in Prince George.
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Prince George's March against Monsanto took place Saturday at the intersection of Highway 16 and 97.

Concerns over food and crops sprouted into a modest but hardy grassroots rally as around 30 activists took part in the March against Monsanto movement Saturday in Prince George.

Dressed in red and carrying signs emblazoned with slogans ranging from 'GMO got to go' to 'The bees' seeds', the group took to the parking lot of the P.G. Playhouse and the intersection of Highway 16 and 97 to raise awareness around issues ranging from the controversies surrounding Monsanto, a U.S. multinational biotechnology and agricultural firm; genetically modified organisms; and food security.

The rally had a light, whimsical tone, underscored by balloons, face-painting, sign-making, games for kids and the occasional honk of what seemed to be either curiousity or support from passing motorists. One speaker called for the eating of dandelions straight off the lawn (provided no pesticides were applied); another likened the rally, one U.S. organizers claimed was mirrored by similar demonstrations in 48 countries and 421 cities across the world Saturday, to bread... rising.

"Personally, as a Canadian, I'm only one bread crumb is this big loaf of the country of Canada but I believe that if each and every one of us, if we stick together, we make a whole loaf of bread representing what we believe in," said Mario Ferreira.

While some of the crumbs may have seemed a little flaky at times, there was no doubting the substance of the issues at hand.

According to the investing advice website The Motley Fool, the main target of rally, Monsanto, with a market valuation of $57 billion U.S., is frequently criticized for its production of herbicides, notably Roundup, and its some say aggressive role, according to wikipedia, as a pioneer in the application of biotechnology to agriculture, including the genetic modification of seeds and plants.

The Washington Post called the ongoing controversy over so-called genetically modified organisms (GMOs) "the World War I of food issues" (pgc.cc/1Rd4JrR).

And according to the Sacramento Bee (pgc.cc/1Q3AVvo), a recent Pew survey found that while of 88 per cent of scientists say GMO foods are safe to eat, 57 per cent of Americans believe they are unsafe.

"Every major scientific organization in the world has concluded that the GM crops that are currently on the market are safe to eat and these are precisely the same organizations that most of us trust when it comes to the changing of the climate or the need for vaccines," Pamela Roland, director of UC Davis' Laborary for Crop Genetics Innovation and Scientific Literacy told the Bee.

The Bee reported UCD receives some research funding from Monsanto.

Also according to the Bee, a variety of global bodies, including eight member nations of the European Union, have fully or partially banned the cultivation of genetically modified seeds.

Chipotle Mexican Grill recently vowed not to serve dishes made from GMO foods.

"The Green Party is going work on bans on promoting GMO foods," Karen McDowell, CEO of the Green Party's electoral district association of Prince George-Peace River.

"They're going to work on bans against companies like Monsanto that try and file for patents on food."

"This is a really important point the Green Party is attacking because owning patents on food is a very dangerous thing as far as food security goes. We need to be able to have control of our own food," McDowel said.

"The Green Party will press for mandatory labelling on GMO foods; this is an interim measure while we work on banning GMO foods."

Those on the skeptical side point to the lack of long-term studies on GMOs; concerns over the food chain and the environment; and fears herbicide-tolerant crops encourage intensive use of those chemicals.

And rally spokesperson Karmjeet Manhas said he's seen those concerns arise in unexpected ways even in Prince George.

"There's a 55-year-old welder from the Hart Highway, that you would never guess, looking for, asking for, eats organic food now," said Manhas.

"Locally, in Superstore, there's an aisle for organic right now... Costco has organic honey, organic ketchup, organic beer, it's just a different option.

"People are waking up... Take a look at what you're feeding your family and the chemicals on your two-dollar clamshell of strawberries."

Rally participant Ray Brown pointed to another worrying trend: the decline of the honey bee.

According to CNBC, from April 2014 to last month, beekeepers in the U.S. lost roughly 40 per cent of colonies; more bees were dying during summer months, when conditions should be more favourable, with one in four colonies dying during those months, which was unheard of several years ago.

Brown pointed to neonicotinoids, a class of insecticide which, according to a 2014 report by the Harvard School of Public Health cited by Reuters, appeared to significantly harm honey bee colonies over the winter. Agrichemical companies like Monsanto, which uses them as coatings on their seeds, blame an Asian bee parasite known as the varroa mite.

According to Reuters, honey bees pollinate plants that produce about a quarter of the food consumed by Americans, including apples, almonds, watermelons and beans.

"Take out the bees... that'll take out our food," said Brown. "It reminds me of this Facebook (cartoon) I saw of four guys sitting in a boat. The two guys are the bottom are sweating and bailing like crazy and there's the other two guys sitting at the other end going, 'I'm sure glad the hole is on their end.'

"Us here in Prince George, we may be sitting at that top end but the whole boat is going to sink."

Brown's comment echoes concerns from other GMO critics. Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist at the U.S.-based Center for Food Safety, told the CBC the emphasis on food-safety, rather than the other consequences of their use, has harmed the GMO debate. His concerns centre more on sustainable agricultural practices; biodiversity; stronger regulation; labelling GMO products; and what should be public domain and what should be patented. Some GMOs could help with those worries, he said.

In Prince George on Saturday, Dennis Loxton boiled that worry down to a more local concern: the area doesn't grow enough of its own food.

"All your food comes from southern California or Mexico," said Loxton. "Local farmers cannot compete and that's why there's so few of them here. One of these days the food truck will stop, it will not show up and you guys will be doing 30 below and you won't have any food.

"That might not happen for a thousand years, but it might be next Thursday. So be aware: you have no food."