Bioneers conference inspires reader to take action for environment

Spectrum, by Kim Sollien

Angela Wade and I attended the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, California Oct. 17-19, 2003.

Often in the environmental and social justice movement, isolation can set in as individual projects (such as the anti-coal bed methane fight) give tunnel vision. Thoughts of living in a science fiction novel haunt me every day.

So it was a great opportunity to attend a conference where countless people have found ways to work and live using amazing healing powers of nature that transcend borders of nation and state, and links to a global understanding of "one planet" and "one people."

During the three-day conference, I listened to 19 keynote speakers and at least 25 others at workshop sessions.

Percy Schmeiser's story, "The Theft of The Ark," touched me. Percy, a 78-year-old, third-generation canola farmer and seed saver, came to the podium, and looked out at the audience of 4000-plus people and, in a sweet somewhat shaky voice, shared the horrors of losing his farm to Monsanto, one of the largest agribusiness companies, who also make and sell herbicides and pesticides. Monsanto is one of the major players on the world scene, squeezing out small farmers and polluting the world.

On a summer day in 1997, Percy planted 1,030 acres of his land with canola. Like his father and grandfather before him, Percy used seed carefully collected from his own harvest the year before. What happened next is now drawing the eyes of the world because it may set precedents affecting the future sanctity of traditional agriculture.

Acting on an anonymous tip, a private investigator hired by Monsanto Canada Inc. collected samples from the edges of Schmeiser's fields without permission, and gathered materials from his growing canola. The following spring he was notified that he was under suspicion of violating Monsanto's "intellectual property rights." The canola on his farm had been tested and found to contain patented genes of Monsanto's highly protected, genetically modified (GM) Roundup Ready seed.

If you eat bottled salad dressing or cook with supermarket canola oil, chances are you've started to consume some of this same type of canola. Genetic engineering takes DNA from one animal, plant species or chemical compound and splices it into the DNA of another animal or plant species to bring about certain commercially desired characteristics, like herbicide or pesticide tolerance.

Herbicide tolerant crops (including soybeans, corn, canola, cotton and sugar beet) are genetically engineered to withstand direct application of herbicides because the crop itself is an herbicide. Herbicide chemicals would kill natural crop plants, but farmers can now spray weed killers directly onto GM herbicide-tolerant varieties. This means more chemicals on our food and in our environment. About 70 percent of GM crops growing in the U.S. today are herbicide-tolerant varieties.

Insect-resistant crops (including corn, cotton and potatoes) are also called "plant pesticides" because the plant is a pesticide. As it grows, the plant produces an insecticide, so certain insects die when they feed on the crop. Industry claims that these GM crops will mean fewer chemical insecticides are sprayed. But scientists have warned that insects will develop resistance in just a few years. To date, research has shown that more and more chemicals are needed to keep the weeds and pests at bay rather than the desired outcome of less. But since Monsanto and other agribusiness companies produce the seed and the chemicals, they are in a win-win situation economically. If you eat soybeans, corn, canola oil, cotton flax, papaya, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, sugar beets or radicchio not labeled USDA Organic, you may be eating genetically engineered foods. The U.S. has not been regulating labeling like many other countries. You may be unknowingly poisoning yourself and your family.

Back to Percy's story … Percy testified that he never bought Roundup Ready seed, never signed a use agreement with Monsanto, and didn't even use Roundup on his crops. He stands firm that the Monsanto's genes invaded and corrupted his line of canola seed he and his family had been cultivating for decades. Once these GM seeds are in the environment, there is little that can be done to stop cross-pollination and contamination on neighboring fields. This is why GM food production, in my opinion, must be stopped. We have no idea how or what will be negatively impacted in the future.

Determined to make an example of Percy, Monsanto rolled out an arsenal of lawyers, sued the elderly farmer for patent violations and, two years later, won their case. The judge essentially ruled that patent rights overruled farmers' rights to use their own seed.

Percy shared more horrors about the effects of GM crops on the future of food and the effect on farmers worldwide. Percy is not alone. He said farmers throughout North America are facing similar suits with Monsanto. Unfortunately North Americans are largely unaware of the contamination in their food and the plight of the small farmers to practice their craft.

Already 75 percent of the soy, 31 percent of the corn, 15 percent of the canola and 70 percent of all the cotton grown in the U.S., foods and crops that we use everyday, contain GM material.

I left the conference with a mission -- to educate my community about the foods we are eating and to make absolutely sure that all the food I eat and buy is either wild, local and organic or USDA organic. I encourage you to do the same. This may be the only way we can individually/collectively fight the corporations, by voting with our dollars.

Next year I feel called to make a coordinated community effort to hold the Bioneers Conference here. The information learned and empowerment gained is too important to not make it available to our people.

People who want more information can call me at 745-0737.

Kim Sollien is the Sustainable Development coordinator for Chickaloon Village.