Organizations, activists and people from various professional and linguistic backgrounds will observe April 26 as International Seeds Day (ISD) advocating for patent-free seeds, organic food and farmers' rights. ISD will be an educational day for the public to learn about genetically modified food and its health hazardous effects and the agribusiness of major US and European companies and their monopoly over the agriculture in Africa and Asia with emphasis on India, Iraq and Afghanistan. It will be a day of solidarity with farmers in countries devastated by war (Afghanistan, Iraq & others) and of resistance.

Join us to endorse and publicize April 26 as International Seeds Day and/or organize an event on April 26. Final deadline to endorse and/or organize an event is: April 12

Why April 26?

Order 81 was signed on April 26, 2004 by Paul Bremer, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq to control Iraq's agriculture. The Order was a declaration of war against farmers. Article 14 of this law states "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds of protected varieties," Order 81 mends Iraq's original law No. 65 on patents, created in 1970. The most significant part of Order 81 is the subject of 'Plant Variety Protection' (PVP), which ensures not the protection of biodiversity, but rather the protection of the commercial interests of USA and European major seed corporations. In order to qualify for PVP, seeds have to be 'new, distinct, uniform and stable'. Therefore, the sort of seeds being encouraged to grow by corporations such as World Wide Wheat Company (WWWC), Monsanto and others will be those registered under PVP.

An interview with Dr. Vandana Shiva

Full text of Order 81

http://www.trade.gov/static/iraq_memo81.pdf

Detailed information on the status of agriculture in Afghanistan and Iraq is accessed here:

http://www.grain.org/briefings/?id=217

ISD Endorsers:

Institute of Near Eastern & African Studies (INEAS), http://www.INEAS.org, (MA, USA)

Navdanya, http://www.navdanya.org, (New Delhi, India)

Institute of Science in Society, http://www.i-sis.org.uk, (London, UK)

Brussells Tribunal, BRussells Tribunal, (Brussells, Belgium)

Grain International, http://www.grain.org, (Bercelona, Spain)

The Green Party of the United States, http://www.gp.org, (DC, USA)

Dr. Vandana Shiva, http://www.navdanya.org, (New Delhi, India)

Wafaa' Al-Natheema, http://zennobia.blogspot.com, (MA, USA)

Brian John, http://www.gmfreecymru.org, (Wales, UK)

Andrew Bosworth, Ph.D., www.biotechempire.com, (Okinawa, Japan)

Dirk Adriaensens, SOS Iraq, (Brussells, Belgium)

Dr. Maha Alsakban, http://www.nwciraq.org, (Diwaniya, Iraq)

Dr. Souad Naji Al-Azzawi, BRussells Tribunal, (Baghdad, Iraq)

Yasir Allawi, http://www.dental-tribune.com, (Dubai,UAE)

Garda Ghista, http://www.worldproutassembly.org, (Kentucky, USA)

Amy Mall, http://www.twinenfp.org, (Chicago, USA)