International Meetings of Resistances to GMOs

The 1st International Meeting of Resistances to GMOs took place on 22-24 April  2016 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Eleven countries from Africa, Europe and South America, Asia and Oceania were represented. The meeting was  rich in exchanges of all kinds and was the cradle of a real will for an international convergence concerning the fight against GMOs as well as the building of alternate solutions such as agroecology and food sovereignty.

The last major international anti-GMO gathering took place last October in The Hague, where the International Monsanto Tribunal and the People’s’ Assembly were held.

This year’s meeting in Lorient will continue the work started in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in April 2016. The core themes of RIR GMOs 2017 meeting will take inspiration from the dialogues which took place in The Hague during the People’s’ Assembly last October, which also gave us proof of how diverse struggles and resistances can converge and kick-off joint strategies and actions across the world.

Before and after the second RiR GMOs in Lorient, plenty of international events will take place such as the International day for peasants’ struggles, each year on april 17th, organized by the international peasant movement La Via Campesina. From april 19th to 22nd it will be the Olympic Seed Festival’s turn, organized in Greece by Peliti Alternative Community. On may 20th, in dozens of countries all over the five continents, men, women and children will march against Monsanto, Bayer and the whole criminal agrochemical bunch.

The 2017 RiR GMOs fit in this dynamic of joint actions. We will gather representatives from North and South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania and of course from several european countries. During these 2017 encounters, we hope that precise objectives will be defined and that a strategy will be shared and also that a permanent and effective coordination will be settled down. Thanks to our strong diversity, acknowledging our differences and determined before the threat of GMOs, let’s meet in Lorient on april 28, 29 and 30th 2017 to build together the resistance and the alternatives.

First Draft of the Program

The International Meetings of Resistances to GMOs (IFA GMO 2017) will take place over the course of three days : subscribing will start January 15 th . Public meetings will be open to all, while the workshops will be open to those who have pre-registered. The program for the IFA GMO 2017 is in the process of being defined, and will be finalized after exchanges among the five participating continents. As of now, we can already announce the three main themes for the event.

Opening event, Friday April 28th, 2017

9:00 – Opening of the International Forum for Alternatives to GMOs

Various speeches notably by the IFA GMO coordinator in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, followed by exchanges with the audience on the themes below:

“Ecocide: A Crime against the Humanity and the Environment”

The IFA GMO caucus of Brittany, France, will launch discussions tied to the ongoing international court case in the Hague against Monsanto, in which one of the goals is to establish ecocide as a crime against humanity and the environment. This intervention will be followed by exchanges with the audience.

“GMOs in Brittany”

Led by Rene Louail, member of Brittany’s IFA GMO caucus, this discussion the situation of GMOs in the Breton region. In Brittany, like in the rest of France, a large majority of people do not consider themselves directly affected by genetically modified organisms (GMOs). And yet, 20% of genetically modified soybeans imported to Europe come through the Breton ports of Brest, Lorient, and Saint Nazaire. Without these imports, the port industry of Brittany would be at a loss. The production of livestock such as chicken, pork, and dairy cows that are not raised on organic feed are completely dependent on the intensive production of genetically modified soybeans from South America. These crops are destroying entire forests and poisoning local populations through the widespread use of glyphosate and other herbicides.

“A Global Fight”

It is time to launch an intercontinental resistance movement against the use of GMOs, and to come together to find solutions that will allow us to ensure that food productions remains safe for everyone involved in the value chain. The IFA GMO representatives from each continent will express their motivations and ideas that will help further this global fight.

Workshops: April 28, 29, 30 (pre-registration required)

This year’s forum will cover workshops on four themes and will stimulate debates over the course of three days.

“Creating One Voice”

It is essential that we advance the fight against the use of GMOs using one strong voice. We must strive to reconcile our cultural, legal, and financial differences in order to confront together our different governments on this subject. We must also come together to discuss the various strategies and commons actions we can employ in this fight. Our hope is that by meeting together in Brittany, we will leave more unified and apt to act collectively going forward.

“Seeds”

Those who have the power over the seeds, have the power over the crops and food products that are produced by those same seeds. This is at the crux of the GMO argument, and the answer lies in the tradition practices of the share and conservation of biodiversity. Step one, the Olympic Seed Festival in Greece, the 19 and 22 April.

“Rights”

Last October in the Hague, the spotlight was on the subject of recognizing ecocide as an international crime. This will be another occasion to debate this subject and how we can better understand the legal tools available to us when it comes to combating multinational hegemonies.

“Agro-ecology”

It is not possible to imagine a fight against GMOs and agro-chemistry without constructive propositions and alternatives. Among these, agro-ecology is coming out as a leading solution on five continents. We will take advantage of these meetings in Lorient to study and discuss techniques and best practices in order to employ more efficient actions and act collectively.

Two conference-debates will be organized during the evenings of April 28 and 29 th . The themes and speakers will be communicated at a later stage: https://rir-ogm.info/?p=168&lang=en

Webpage with more details: http://rir-ogm.info
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/269014066878448/