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Reclaiming the Commons: from BioDevestation to BioDemocracy
Running opposite the BIO convention was a counter-convention called "BioDemocracy 2005", which consisted of a smorgasbord of activities aimed at challenging the biotech industry with an alternative vision of peaceful, sustainable and grassroots democracy. As they have done at previous BIO conventions, activists from across the country converged on the "City of Brotherly Love" to bring attention to BIO's closed-door agenda of medicine for profit, genetically engineered agriculture and bioweapons proliferation. previous conventions: San Francisco, 2004 | St. Louis, 2003 I WTO/USDA Sacramento, 2003 I Washington, DC, 2003 BioDemocracy 2005 kicked off on Friday with a Critical Mass bike ride (photos) against Biotech. The following day, a "Reclaim the Commons" open-air Festival brought together organic farmers, community gardeners, alternative health practitioners, artists, puppets, musicians, families, and activists to share knowledge, give-aways, and skills. Food Not Bombs, which was having a concurrent international gathering in Philadelphia to celebrate its 25th anniversary, provided food at the festival as well as at other BioDemocracy events. audio: Audio Recordings of BioDemocracy Conference | Audio from morning biotech - Philly | More audio from morning rally at biodev | GE Trees I Food Not Bombs 25th Anniversary, Keith McHenry Reflections | Scientific Controversies in Genetic Engineering | Percy Schmeiser at BioDemocracy other media: photos 1, 2 video 1 personal accounts: Reportaje personal del BioDemocracy2005 (es) | A Firsthand Account In Philadephia Part One (en) legal situation: Bail for Protesters set at $50,000 | Legal Situation in Philly related sites: phillyimc.org | Reclaim the Commons | biodev.org
Canada denies Tewolde Egziabher visa for the Biosafety meeting
+ CANADIAN GOVT DENIES VISA FOR CHIEF AFRICAN BIOSAFETY NEGOTIATOR - PROTEST!
Legisladores mexicanos abren la puerta a la privatización genética
La mentira redonda de la soja sustentable
Durante los años 2003 y 2004 las empresas transnacionales dedicadas al negocio de granos y tecnología agrícola desarrollaron una estrategia de cooptación de ongs. ambientalistas y organizaciones de pequeños productores para “legitimar” la futura producción de soja que, según ellos, el mundo globalizado necesitará y que se estima aumentara en un 60%. Esta tarea de legitimación comenzó con la primera Mesa redonda de Soja Sustentable en 17 y 18 de marzo de 2005. Este encuentro internacional fue organizado por Vida Silvestre Internacional (WWF) y se debatió la "sustentabilidad" del modelo de monocultivo de soja transgénica en Argentina, Brasil y Paraguay en Foz de Iguaçu, Brasil, en el hotel cinco estrellas Bourbon Cataratas. [artículo completo]
URGENT ALERT! TAKE ACTION NOW! STOP SMALLPOX GENETIC ENGINEERING!
[ Sunshine Project | Third World Network ]
El trébol de la mala suerte
Uruguay es una pequeña nación sudamericana que ha trabajado mucho para vender una imagen de "país natural". Su ganado alimentado con pasturas naturales y sus productos lácteos y mieles de buena calidad, que han encontrado su lugar en los mercados internacionales, chocan contra la avanzada de las plantaciones de eucaliptos y los cultivos transgénicos: además de la soja, siempre en expansión, hay dos variedades de maíz GM aprobadas y otras dos en evaluación. A esto se suma el reciente pedido de autorización para evaluar un trébol GM, desarrollado en Australia por un científico uruguayo, que hasta ahora no ha sido liberado en ningún país. Leer el informe completo
Soy, Soy, Soy Everywhere....
[ Counter Conference on soy | Indymedia Argentina in Iguazu | Report (Spanish, Dutch) and Pictures (1,2,3) and Movies from Counter Conference | Pictures, Movie (1 , 2) and Report (Dutch, English,Spanish) of Rotterdam action | Radio Mundo Real from Iguazu 1,2,3 | New Soy Report English & Spanish ]
World Consumer Rights Day 2005 focus on GMOs
[ Consumers International | Article | GMO Fact Sheets | GMO Actions ]
Landmark Victory in World's First Case Against Biopiracy!!
[ Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology | The Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament | International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) ]
Direct Action Blockades Against GM
[ Full Story | IMC UK ]
Deputados aprovam liberação dos transgênicos
Na contramão de manifestações contrárias ao plantio dos alimentos transgênicos, a Câmara dos Deputados aprovou ontem, 2 de março, a Lei de Biossegurança, que regulariza a produção de Organismos Geneticamente Modificados (OGM). O projeto recebeu 352 votos favoráveis e 60 negativos e dá à CTNBio poderes para liberação do plantio e comercialização desses produtos. Em janeiro, o Governo Federal já havia liberado a safra transgênica de 2005 através da Medida Provisória 223. Motivado pela pressão de grupos interessados na pesquisa com células-tronco, tema que divide a Lei com os transgênicos, o presidente da Câmara, Severino Cavalcanti (PP), colocou a matéria para votação. Não existem testes que comprovem a segurança dos transgênicos em relação ao meio ambiente e ao consumo humano, porém, já foi comprovado que a abundante quantidade de herbicidas usados em plantações transgênicas contaminam os lençois freáticos e os solos. A diversidade de sementes também está em risco. Os grãos geneticamente modificados desenvolvem imunidade, exigindo doses mais fortes, prejudicando mais o meio ambiente e levando a uma uniformização das sementes, que terão cada vez mais as mesmas características. A argumentação de que o aumento na produção dos alimentos, em consequência dos transgênicos, poderá acabar com a fome também é rebatida. De acordo com a Organização para Agricultura e Alimentação, órgão ligado a ONU, existem 826 milhões de pessoas que chegaram ao nível mais elevado de fome, enquanto 32% da produção de alimentos cresceu nos últimos anos. O interesse em aprovar os transgênicos, para organizações que se opõem ao seu uso, é baseado na participação no agronegócio de exportação - atualmente inclinado para a indústria da transgenia. editoriais sobre transgênicos :: Governo libera soja transgênica por mais um ano | Tribunal Internacional Popular sobre os Transgênicos | "Quero saber o que estou comendo!" | Via campesina protesta em Brasília contra a aprovação da MP-131
The WFP and the US accused of not listening to the concerns of Central American society
[ Centro Humboldt | GM Food Aid ]
Farmers launch massive agitation against new patent law
[ IMC India | Article - Sowing The Seeds Of Dictatorship | Vandana Shiva ]
Canadian Government to Unleash Terminator Bombshell at UN Meeting
A confidential document leaked today to ETC Group reveals that the Canadian government, at a United Nations meeting in Bangkok (Feb 7-11), will attempt to overturn an international moratorium on genetic seed sterilisation technology (known universally as Terminator). Even worse, the Canadian government has instructed its negotiators to "block consensus" on any other option. [ Stop Terminator Action Alert |ETC Group | Terminator Technology | Convention on Biological Diversity ]
Legal Team From Reclaim The Commons Needs Your Help
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From June 19 to June 22 in 
En medio de la cortina mediática generada por la sucesión presidencial, el 27 de abril el Senado mexicano abrió la puerta a la privatización de los recursos genéticos mediante la aprobación por unanimidad de la “Iniciativa de ley federal para el acceso y aprovechamiento de los recursos biológicos y genéticos”, lo cual sin duda afectará gravemente, entre otras cosas, la soberanía alimentaria de México, como en el caso del maíz, ya contaminado desde su centro de origen.
(4 April 2005) – An international alliance of non-governmental organizations has launched a campaign to urge the World Health Organization to reject a proposal that would permit the genetic engineering of smallpox and to instead ensure that all remaining stocks of the virus are destroyed within two years. Debate on the proposal will take place at the World Health Assembly (WHA), which meets in Geneva, Switzerland beginning on May 16th.
March 16 - Iguazu, Brazil & Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A counter conference on soy with participants from the South American landless movements, peasant and environmental groups is currently taking place in Iguazu, Brazil. The conference is in opposition to Business meeting for 'Sustainable Soy' organised by agribusiness corporations and WWF. At the same time, support actions have taken place in Rotterdam harbour, in the Netherlands, against the soy industry.
On 15 March 2005, World Consumer Rights Day, consumer organisations all over the world will say NO to GMOs! Consumer International (CI) member organisations will lobby governments, hold public meetings and street demonstrations to stop the spread of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They will demand labelling of all GM foods and independent safety testing.
Munich, March 8, 2005. In a landmark decision today, the European Patent Office upheld a decision to revoke in its entirety a patent on a fungicidal product derived from seeds of the Neem, a tree indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.
At 3am on Saturday 26th February, a coalition of environmentalists used direct action to blockade Sainsbury's huge regional distribution centre at Emerson's Green, causing disruption to Sainsbury's retail supply across the South-West and beyond. Braving sub-zero temperatures and snow, campaigners blockaded the entrance to the depot, locking themselves together for three hours with steel tubes. There were six arrests.
Organizations of the civil society in Centralamerica are presenting today irrefutable proofs of the presence of StarLink –a genetically modified maize banned for human consumption in the US-, in food aid sent to Centralamerica. The proofs presented contradict earlier declarations from the World Food Programme (WFP ) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which questioned the existence of StarLink in food aid distributed by the WFP.
New Delhi - Several agitating farmers' organisations and trade unions began on February 26 a day of countrywide agitation with a march to parliament followed by a "Beej Satyagraha" to oppose the new 'anti-people' patent law. Farmers' bodies have decided to oppose the recent government ordinance, which seeks to introduce patent monopolies on seeds and the privatization of the water sector. As an alternative, the farmers’ bodies have decided to draft a new agriculture policy and submit it to the government.
All-out push for commercialisation of Sterile Seed Technology.
"Were you at the 2004 Biotech Protest in San Francisco on June 8th? Were you there early in the morning, that is prior to 7:00am? Do you remember the streets, in particular, 4th coming south from Mission down to Howard, being blocked off by the police? And/or do you remember seeing 3rd being blocked going north to Howard? A number of protesters are still facing charges for 'willfully and substantially blocking the free passage' of others when they sat down or stood in the intersections of 4th and Howard and at 3rd and Howard." The legal team for the protesters who were arrested on the morning of June 8th, 2004 at the Reclaim the Commons "Shut Down San Francisco" protest are seeking witnesses for this case whose outcome, they think, will set a precedent on protest in SF.
