Millions Worldwide March Against Monsanto

"It's time to take back our food!" was the cry as people in 52 countries worldwide took to the streets in a global day of action on Saturday against chemical behemoth Monsanto.

The third annual March Against Monsanto (MAM) is slated to be the biggest yet, according to movement founder Tami Canal, with millions of people in over 400 cities expected to take part.

“From Agent Orange to Monsanto’s pending patents directly affiliated with weather modification to the gross government corruption, MAM has evolved to expose all the insidious tentacles that Monsanto possesses,” said Canal in an interview with Anti-Media.

Across social media, protesters shared images from demonstrations around the world where people called for the permanent boycott of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and other harmful agro-chemicals.

Tweets about "#MarchAgainstMonsanto OR #endmonsanto"

"People often ask me 'Why Monsanto?'" wrote food justice advocate Dr. Vandana Shiva in a statement on the March. "My response is, we did not choose to target Monsanto. Monsanto chose to target our seed and food freedom, our scientific and democratic institutions, our very lives."

"Monsanto wants superprofits through total control over nature and humanity," Shiva continued.

"The greed and violence of one corporation cannot be allowed to destroy life on Earth, the lives of our farmers, the lives of our children," Shiva added. "That is why we March Against Monsanto."

Citing recent successes such as a ban on GMO cultivation in two Oregon counties and the passage of a GMO labeling initiative in Vermont, Canal said the movement has already seen a number of "positives" this year, where people "truly battled the Goliath biotech industry and overcame the odds and financial power of companies like Monsanto."

Though GMOs have been at least partially banned in over 15 countries and must be labelled in 62 countries, according to MAM organizers, food safety advocates face an uphill battle in the U.S.

"The revolving door between Monsanto employees, government positions, and regulatory authorities has led to key Monsanto figures occupying positions of power at the FDA and EPA," the group writes in their call to action.

A list of all March Against Monsanto demonstrations can be found here.

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