Bayer-Monsanto: Get-off our Plates!” Town Hall Meeting

Along with AStA Uni Köln. Colabora, IFOAM Organics International, the Coalition against Bayer Dangers eV- and others, Navdanya is co-organising a Townhall Meeting in Cologne on April 27th, 2017.

“Bayer-Monsanto: Get-off our Plates!” event is strictly connected to the “Stop Bayer demonstration which will take place in Bonn on April 28th in front of the World Conference Center, where the annual Bayer shareholder will be held. Other actions are being organised nationwide along the same lines. (See list of Germany events here)

This series of actions in Germany is, in turn, part of the global mobilization which was initiated last October during the People’s Assembly and the Monsanto Tribunal in the Hague, where Navdanya,  along with multiple civil society organisations, formed a Planetary Alliance for Earth Democracy.

Movements across the world are already joining this renewed “Call to Action against the Corporate Takeover of our Food and Health” and events and actions are being organised along the month of April and beyond.

The  “Bayer-Monsanto: Get-off our Plates!” Town Hall Meeting in Cologne will feature the following international speakers:

Andre Leu, IFOAM Organics International – President,

Nnimmo Bassey (Nigeria, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Member of Navdanya International Board, 2010 Right Livelihood Award, former President of Friends of the Earth International),

TBD (Coalition against Bayer dangers),

Johannes Remmel (NRW LW-minister,  well known for his criticism of Bayer-Monsanto merger),

Miguel Lovera, former head of Paraguay’s National Service for Plants and Seeds Quality and Health and witness at the Monsanto Tribunal,

Jon Tester (democratic US Senator, organic farmer and the only GM opponent in the Senate)

The acquisition of Monsanto by the BAYER Group exacerbated the already existing disastrous political, environmental and social issues related to corporate power and corporate profits.

The merger of the two agricultural giants is going to create a monopoly in the market of GMOs, and agrichemicals, adding to it a strong link to the pharmaceutical business. This situation has been giving rise to great concern about the entailed dangers for our food and health. In the conventional seed sector, the two companies have a combined market share of around 30% and a 25% in the pesticides sector. Through the increased pressure that they can put on governments and international institutions, corporate giants like BAYSANTO threaten not only small scale agriculture and the quality of our food, but also democracy, human rights, biodiversity, peace, social security and people’s health.

Corporations like Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, Dupont, Syngenta, all have their roots in warfare and through free trade neoliberal policies and deregulation of commerce, they enlarge their empire with mega buyouts. The Bayer-Monsanto merger will most likely destroy thousands of jobs and further enhance the exploitation of people and the environment.

We invite you to join us in Cologne to continue the defence of our freedoms and shape a poison-free, corporate-free future.

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/421193521581775/