Activists, Farmers, Indigenous People March Against Monsanto

Above photo: Protesters from France’s pro-labor and pro-democracy “Up All Night” movement joined anti-GMO activists for a massive march against Monsanto in Paris, one of hundreds around the world. (Photo: Sam Cossar-Gilbert/Twitter)

‘The fight against corporate control of our food is global’

Anti-corporate activists, organic farmers, Indigenous peoples, environmental groups and others took to the streets across six continents and over 400 cities on Saturday in a global grassroots march against bioengineering giant Monsanto.

“The fight against corporate control of our food is global,” a food sovereignty campaigner with UK-based nonprofit Global Justice Now rallied the crowd marching in London.

We are fighting against the corporate control of our food system #MarcheContreMonsanto #MarchAgainstMonsanto #paris pic.twitter.com/5RTSFyMy7H — Take the square (@takethesquare) May 21, 2016

The grassroots March Against Monstanto campaign began in 2013 as a coordinated movement to “take back the food supply.” This year’s march takes place amid allegations of collusion and industry rigging of the regulatory processes surrounding the company’s toxic weedkiller Roundup and GMO crops in Europe and the United States. The campaign, based in the U.S., described why so many are fighting the chemical behemoth in a statement:

Monsanto has infiltrated various agencies within the United States government, and as a result both public health and the health of our environment has suffered greatly. Glyphosate, the cancer-linked herbicide that is an essential component in the expansion of GMO crops, is already being banned around the world over safety concerns. Here in the United States, glyphosate is consistently being discovered in everything from hospital feeding tubes and tampons to the breast milk of nursing mothers.

The group also posted a billboard in Times Square this week calling for Monsanto and regulators to “keep GMOs out of our genes.” In France, the pro-democracy Nuit Debout (“Up All Night”) movement took part and joined forces with the March Against Monsanto campaign in Paris, forming a massive demonstration that marched all afternoon through the capital streets.

Activists also documented marches in Frankfurt, London, Cape Town, and Teipei, among many other cities, on social media:

It will take Peoples from all races to beat #Monsanto from our Territories around the world. #MaM2016 #IdleNoMore pic.twitter.com/t1bNbk95lh — Idle No More (@IdleNoMore4) May 21, 2016