Originally published June 17 2011
After being arrested twice, dedicated activists tie themselves to tractors to stop plantings of GM potatoes
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) When petitions, protests, and even sit-ins were not enough to stop the biotechnology giant BASF from planting its genetically-modified (GM) Amflora potato in Sweden, Greenpeace activists there "walked their talk," so to speak, by literally tying themselves to the tractor plows that were about to be used to spread the GM seeds throughout fields.
As we recently reported here on NaturalNews, an initial group of activists, for the second year in a row, had been blocking the entrance to the BASF warehouse near the field where Amflora was to be planted, that is until police came and arrested them (http://www.naturalnews.com/032544_BASF_GM_po...).
Now, a new group has taken their place to continue the efforts of the first by doing whatever it takes to stop BASF from planting the crops in violation of EU law, even if it means going directly after the company's planting equipment.
Amflora potatoes contain an artificially added gene that is resistant to antibiotics, which opponents say is contributing to the rising epidemic of antibiotic resistance around the world.
Amflora was also never properly investigated for safety, nor was it subjected to a rigorous environmental impact review as it should have been -- the Swedish government basically just allowed the European Commission to approve the "Frankencrop" arbitrarily without so much as a peep of opposition.
So activists have decided to take matters into their own hands once again, this time directly accosting BASF tractor plows, which were actually accompanied by a police escort in expectation of the activists. Police arrested seven members of the group early on, but a number of others made it through the blockade where they proceeded to tie themselves to the plows.
You can view photos of Greenpeace's efforts here:
https://info.greenpeace.se/a_mediarelease/?openfolder=110519_Haparanda_Sweden_GMO_repository_blockade/
"What we see here happening is that the profit interests of a company like BASF is ranked higher than the health interests of the European public who by large majority rejects the cultivation of GMOs," said Ludvig Tillman of Greenpeace Sweden. "The Commission rubberstamped the approval of risky Amflora and the Swedish government did nothing but watching [sic]. So if they do not act, we have to act."
To help stop BASF's efforts to plant GM Amflora in Sweden, visit:
http://www.naturalnews.com/032585_GM_potatoe...
Sources for this story include:
http://gmwatch.eu/latest-listing/1-news-item...
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