The Monsanto Tribunal’s Legal Opinion reinforces movements’ struggle for basic human rights

The Hague, 18 April 2017

The process of holding the “Poison Cartel” accountable for its crimes, which led to the Monsanto Tribunal,  was the culmination of 30 years of scientific, legal, social, and political work by movements, concerned citizens and scientists.

While courts can investigate crimes of the poison cartel, and this is important for justice, people have the power to change the way we grow our food.

Alongside the Monsanto Tribunal, a People’s Assembly was also held in Hague, last October. It was a gathering of leading movements and activists working to defend our ecosystem and food sovereignty, to lay out the effects of industrial agrochemicals on our lives, our soils, our atmosphere and climate, as well as to chart the road to our future based on Seed Freedom and Food Freedom, agroecology and farmers rights, our commons and economies of sharing, rights of nature and earth democracy. In the same days, People’s Assemblies have been self-organized by local communities throughout the world to establish a worldwide network in order to create a healthy future of food and of the planet.

Last year, on 16 October 2016, World Food Day, the voices of the soil, of the seeds, of farmers, consumers, and of people from all over world expressed their verdict:

Monsanto and the Poison Cartel are guilty of crimes against our planet and humanity. The poison making industry is destroying life on Earth, our health and our democracies. The People’s Assembly resolved to end a century of ecocide and genocide.

As multinationals are closing ranks through mergers to become bigger and more powerful, civil society movements gathered at the People’s Assembly have committed to joining forces to reclaim people’s rights to healthy food and a healthy and safe environment and to defend human rights and environmental rights and regulations gained through years of social struggle.

In 2016 more than 110 People’s Assemblies took place in 28 countries to join forces and collectively defend our Seed Freedom, Food Freedom and Democratic Rights to shape the future of food that protects life on Earth and the well-being of all.

This global mobilization is now continuing and movements across the world are converging in a new unity across diversity to end a century of ecocide and genocide.

As a response to the series of announced mergers of chemical-based giant corporations, the Monsanto/Bayer merger being the latest, Navdanya is organizing multiple actions over the next months.

Over the last months Navdanya has joined the widespread opposition against poisons in our food system and is calling citizens throughout Europe to sign the European Citizens Initiative to #StopGlyphosate  and demand the EU to reform its pesticides approval procedures. At the Monsanto Tribunal several testimonies were given by witnesses from Europe, United States and Argentina about how the use of glyphosate based herbicides have affected their health and in many cases led to developing cancer. In Italy, towards the end of May Navdanya International will launch a Report on Poisons in our Plate, together with ASud and CDCA..

In India, Navdanya is challenging the process of corporate mergers by warning the governments on conflicts of interests and the dangers of too much concentration of power. At the same time this April, Navdanya has gathered  movements for democracy which are undertaking a Satyagraha Yatra, a pilgrimage for Seed Freedom and Food Freedom.

In Greece, from 20-22 April 2017, Navdanya will join Peliti at the Olympic Seed Freedom Festival along with people and organisations from all over the world.

In Germany, from 25 – 29 April 2017, along with the Coalition against Bayer Dangers eV, IFOAM Organics International, Colabora and many other civil society movements, Navdanya is co-organising a “Stop Bayer / Monsanto” mobilization which will converge in Bonn on April 28th, for a demonstration in front of the World Conference Center where the 2017 Bayer shareholders meeting will be held.

Never before has it been more critical for people to organize to stop the corporate takeover of our food, our health and our planet.

We invite you to join with people and communities around the globe, in this renewed  “Call to Action against the Corporate Takeover of our Food and Health” and organize a People’s Assembly wherever you are to shape another future of our food and our planet.  

Everywhere, we will make commitments to create a healthy future of food and of the planet. From the People’s Assemblies we will launch a boycott campaign, to liberate our seeds and soils, our communities and societies, our planet and ourselves, from poisons and the rule of the poison cartel.