The Book of Trans-Genesis: Protecting the World's Seeds

Sunday, 28 September 2014 09:48  

By Roberto Rodriguez, Truthout | News Analysis

Tic toc. Tic toc. Tic toc.

I recently attended an international "Justice Begins With Seeds" Biosafety Alliance conference in Portland, Oregon. It was both eye-opening and jarring and it was also very focused: opposition to trade agreements and laws that permit genetic modification and GMO foods, while promoting food choice - in particular, safe organic and local foods.

Among the 40 presenters were people with biological and scientific backgrounds, educators, attorneys, human rights activists and organic farmers. What they all had in common was that they possess a wealth of information and have a desire to protect the word's sacred seeds from the transgenic, multinational corporations of the world, such as Monsanto, Dow and Dupont.

To be truthful, the information presented at the conference was actually very depressing with an aura of doomsday about it, particularly with respect to what has been happening to our food supply over the past generation. At the same time, there were no signs of defeatism, as generally everyone is part of this movement to counter the efforts of these extralegal corporations - corporations that virtually write their own laws exempting themselves from environmental, labor, safety and human rights laws and regulations. While this has always been the case, with the advent of transgenics, what these corporations are doing rises to the level of crimes against nature and crimes against humanity, along with crimes against the earth herself.

I had been invited to this conference because the organizers felt that the message of my forthcoming book: Our Sacred Maíz Is Our Mother (University of Arizona Press), was a message that fit the theme of the conference.

For rest of column, go to: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/26402-the-book-of-trans-genesis-protecting-the-world-s-seeds