May, 20 2014, 11:12am EDT
Global GMO Free Coalition Brings Together 4.5 Million People to Fight Biotech Industry Propaganda
WASHINGTON
The Global GMO Free Coalition launched today, May 20, 2014, bringing together GMO Free groups, including the Organic Consumers Association, across 6 continents with a partner membership of over 4.5 Million people.
The Global GMO Free Coalition, with over 60 partner organizations, is the first globally coordinated network to take on the genetically modified (GM) food and crop industry head on in both the media and in public and government advocacy areas. The aim of the coalition is to cut through Biotech industry propaganda and to provide independent information that leads to responsible actions from food regulatory bodies in countries worldwide.
Henry Rowlands, the Global GMO Free Coalition Coordinator, stated Tuesday; "The problem with GMOs and their associated pesticides is that they were never independently tested before being released into the environment. This has led to both consumers and independent scientists being seriously concerned about the possible harm they are doing to both the environment and human health."
The Global GMO Free Coalition will provide journalists and governments worldwide with a serious and well-respected source of independent information. Journalists will be welcomed to contact the Coalition 24 hours a day for unique quotes and reactions from the top Global experts in the field of GMOs and their associated pesticides.
The Coalition will also coordinate expert speakers to attend public and private events wherever they are held around the Globe. These speakers will present serious sustainable alternatives to GMOs and will deconstruct Biotech industry propaganda.
The Global GMO Free Coalition partners are from countries around the world, including the U.S., UK, Russia, Iran, Chile, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, New Caledonia, Ghana, Georgia and Ireland.
"This is a global issue that deserves a global approach. The GMO industry is attempting to take over the world's food supply with untested, harmful products and we will not let this happen. We invite more organizations from around the world to join us," Rowlands concluded.
Quotes from Global GMO Free Coalition Steering Committee Members
Katherine Paul, Associate Director, Organic Consumers Association, USA
"A global system of agriculture built around mono-crops that are engineered to resist massive amounts of toxic herbicides and pesticides is unsustainable on all levels. Science has proven that weeds and insects eventually evolve to become tolerant of chemicals like glyphosate and 2,4-D, leading to a perpetual, and unsustainable, cycle of super weeds, super bugs and the need for a dizzying array of increasingly toxic chemicals to control them. Those toxins are harmful to all living things, including humans. All the current research points to the need to return to a system built around diverse food crops, adapted for local growing conditions, and grown without the use of chemical inputs."
Elena Sharoykina, Director, National Association for Genetic Safety, Russia
"Russia is the largest country in the world, a country with a unique geographical landscape and biodiversity. We realize our responsibility to the world in preserving the purity and fertility of the land, because of the fact that it is a unique source of genetic resources for the whole world. Therefore, we believe that Russia can and must retain the status of a global environmental donor and prevent the cultivation of GMOs. I'm absolutely sure, that participation in the GGFC will help achieve these goals.
Today, global corporations have forgotten that this planet belongs to every inhabitant of the Earth in equal form. So now we are very pleased to join all active and concerned people on the way to a GMO Free world. No doubt, GGFC will make our global voice more weighty and significant".
Sayer Ji, Founder, GreenMedInfo, USA
"Sadly, a GMO free world is now virtually impossible. Transgenes have already escaped into the biosphere, creating a type of pollution that is truly irreversible, and whose unintended, adverse consequences may never be fully known even though they will be experienced by countless future generations. The least we can do is to stop this global experiment, as it is being conducted without the informed consent of those being exposed to its fallout. We all have a human right to abstain. Without being properly informed, there can be no choice. And without choice no one can call themselves free and self-possessed.
The agrochemical-based global farming system, infatuated as it is by GMOs, is waging a full scale chemical war against the biosphere, of which we form an inseparable part. Calling this farming is the ultimate absurdity, as this food production system requires the inevitable destruction of the soil, the biodiversity and even the producers and consumers who eventually must succumb to suboptimal nutrition and poisoning."
Claire Robinson, Research Director, Earth Open Source, UK
"Most people in the world do not want GM in their food and feed supplies and governments and the mainstream media must begin to honour that wish. The GGFC will provide a much-needed focus for communication around this vital issue."
Diana Reeves, Founder, GMO Free USA
"I am a mother who has lost a child to cancer and comes from a family with autoimmune disease. I've had the personal experience of tracking health problems (including chronic fatigue syndrome and digestive disorders) back to genetically engineered corn & soy in vitamins. Personally, I am pro-science. I believe that the GMO Free Global Coalition is critically important to our future.
We will not allow the agrichemical industry to control the science. We have come together to bring truth and transparency to the media to refute industry funded pseudo-science and propaganda. The development of global protocols and standards for long-term safety testing of genetically engineered organisms and the associated chemicals is a must. Due to the lack of regulation and independent safety testing, genetically engineered organisms are putting our children and our world at risk."
Ivan Santandreu, Co-Founder, Chile sin Transgenicos, Chile
"In a globalized world it's important to address this important issue from a global perspective, it's important to join efforts from every country in the world; together we will make a difference."
Notes for Editors
- Global GMO Free Coalition Mission: https://www.gmofreeglobal.org/en/mission
- Global GMO Free Coalition Steering Committee: https://www.gmofreeglobal.org/en/steering-committee
- Global GMO Free Coalition Partners: https://www.gmofreeglobal.org/en/partners
Contacts for Editors and Public
Website: www.gmofreeglobal.org
E-mail: office@gmofreeglobal.org
Direct Contact: Henry Rowlands, Global GMO Free Coalition Coordinator,
Skype: henry.rowlands
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit public interest organization, and the only organization in the U.S. focused exclusively on promoting the views and interests of the nation's estimated 50 million consumers of organically and socially responsibly produced food and other products. OCA educates and advocates on behalf of organic consumers, engages consumers in marketplace pressure campaigns, and works to advance sound food and farming policy through grassroots lobbying. We address crucial issues around food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability, including pesticide use, and other food- and agriculture-related topics.
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