In communities from Berkeley, Petaluma and Sebastopol, California to five townships in Pennsylvania to the City of Boston, Massachusetts coalitions of parents, farmers and environmentalists have gotten local legislators to pass an array of anti-biotech resolutions. Some, like the one passed unanimously by Boston City Council in March, urge the federal government to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. Others, like Sebastopol's, support federal legislation calling a moratorium on genetically modified organisms unless they are proven safe. The resolutions are non-binding, but they are meant to educate the public and send a strong message to the biotech corporations and the federal government. Community activists have been convening town meetings and participating in the local political process, often helping to draft the measures.
Activists say they are reclaiming the political process.
Marchers, estimated by police at around 4,000, included supporters of environmentalist pressure groups and political parties, farmers, leftists and representatives of local councils that have banned GM foods. We should be properly informed about GM technology so that we can make our own choices about what we eat. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. The French government last Thursday ordered the destruction of 600 hectares planted with the Canadian seed in France after checks showed the batch contained genetically modified seeds and at least one strain of herbicide-resistant rapeseed. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.