ADVISORY: Organic Consumers Association Continental Days of Action against Genetically Engineered Corn April 10 - 17, 2002

FARMERS & CONSUMERS THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS WILL DUMP CORN AND HOLD PROTESTS & PRESS CONFERENCES AGAINST GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CORN ON APRIL 10-17

PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS CALL ON THE US TO STOP DUMPING GENE-ALTERED CORN IN MEXICO AND TO REMOVE BIOTECH CORN FROM THE MARKET

CONTINENTAL WIDE PROTESTS ACROSS MEXICO AND BIOTECH OFFICES, AND GRAIN COMMODITIES EXCHANGES AND MEXICAN CONSULATES IN WINNIPEG, MINNEAPOLIS, SAN FRANSISCO, BOSTON, CHICAGO AND OTHER US CITIES

Consumers and farmers in dozens of communities in Mexico, the US, Canada, and other nations will dump corn and stage protests and press conferences April 10-17 against genetically engineered corn. A broad continental coalition is spearheading the protests.

Consumer and farm groups throughout the continent are calling on governments, biotech corporations, food companies, and grain exporters to halt the dumping of US taxpayer subsidized genetically engineered corn in Mexico and other nations of corn biodiversity and to guarantee a fair price to corn producers. Recent studies have found widespread genetic contamination of traditional varieties of corn in Mexico. Groups also demand that governments and leading food corporations such as Kraft remove all gene-altered corn from the market unless it is proven to be safe for human health and the environment and labeled. Recently several hundred Americans have reported allergic reactions to the FDA after consuming foods likely containing genetically engineered corn.  Two years ago an illegal and likely allergenic variety of gene-altered corn called StarLink contaminated the US corn supply and forced a massive recall of 300 brand name products.

Protests and press conferences will be held at the US Embassy in Mexico City, the grain port in Vera Cruz,and dozens of communities in corn growing areas of Latin America, as well as major grain exchanges in Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Chicago-among other locations.

"These unprecedented continental wide protests mark the beginning of the end of the biotech industry dumping genetically engineered corn on consumers and the environment," stated Ronnie Cummins, Director of the Organic Consumers Association.

Media Contacts: 

Simon Harris, Organic Consumers Association (USA) 510-525-7054

simon@organicconsumers.org     http://www.organicconsumers.org

Ryan Zinn, Global Exchange (Mexico) (011) 52-967-67-89738

rzinn@laneta.apc.org    http://www.laneta.apc.org/biodiversidad/