Unstitching the media stitch-up

October 2014

2013 March against Monsanto, Washington DC, USA. CC photo by Stephen Melkisethlan

The GM-media stitch-up which became evident when our previous Environment Minister was strutting his stuff on the pro-GM stage [1,2] seems to be part of an orchestrated, world-wide GM-good-news-only drive (see below for examples).

Given what has been reaching the news lately, you might be getting the impression that 'the GM debate is over' and that GM-concern campaigning is dead in the water.

No so.

With British fish-oil' from a GM 'plant heading for your plate [3], weird and wonderful synthetic biology stuff pretending not to be GM [4],  GM animal feed arriving on our shores by the multiple-tonne, GM cooking-oil abounding in cash-and-carries (although no one's admitting using it), and a new Environment Minister to start a conversation with, it's time to ACT.

For starters:

1. Keep an eye on the actions posted on the GM Freeze website (www.gmfreeze.org/actions/)
2. There's a petition to MEPs demanding that EU Member States have the right to ban GMOs from their fields without any risk of legal suits from the biotech industries.  Check out http://action.sumofus.org/a/gm-crops-europe/?sub=homepage
3. There's also a GM-free nation conversation brewing in the form of a great big photo-petition.  Check it out at www.gmfreeme.org.  There's nothing to sign in this petition, just take a snap of yourself with your own personal message to the government, and send it in.  When GM-Free Me has 100,000 GM-Free You supporters, it plans to deliver a giant canvas of you all to Westminster.  By networking the photo-petition, you can start a conversation about creating a GM-free nation which can't be stopped.
4. Did you know ...

For example:

In September 2014, French activists, Faucheurs Volontaires, from all over France intercepted a shipment of 3,500 tons of GM soya from South America and rendered it unfit for consumption.  In a separate action, they disrupted a major meeting at the International Livestock Trade Fair in Rennes (until they were evicted by private security guards).  The group has been active since 2006 using non-violent-direct-action to demand:

• a moratorium on imports of GM soya
• a change in agricultural policy to promote cultivation of lupins, peas, faba beans, alfalfa etc. to replace imported GM food and feed, and so prevent the animal and environmental health issue related to them.
• Labeling of all products containing GMOs or from livestock fed GMOs.

Faucheurs Volontaires actions are not being reported in any mainstream media.

For example:

GM food is being heavily resisted by the people of China, while its government is a long-term proponent.  Currently the country is very dependent on imported GM soya to feed its pig industry.  In September, the Chinese agricultural ministry announced a major media campaign via TV, newspapers and the internet to educate people on GM.

COMMENT  Presumably the UK and European media stitch-up has been so good that China hasn't noticed the tactic never worked.

For example:

Americans are fast joining the ranks of the GM-concerned.  The result has been that a respected journalist (who should know better) writing for a respected publication (which should be more choosey) has unaccountably become inspired to bad-mouth an internationally-active anti-GM scientist in what seems demonstrably poor piece of journalism.  See CONTROVERSIAL CRUSADES coming soon.


We could go on, but you've probably got the point by now.

Finally, you can help unstitch the media stitch-up by sending letters to the editors any time you spot the biased, misleading, and even down-right untruthful pro-GM propaganda they seem to have got into the habit of printing.  Tell them you expect their publication to be based on good journalism.

Background:
[1]  WHEN NON-NEWS IS BAD NEWS - April 2013
[2]  THE NEW YEAR GM PEP-TALK - February 2014
[3]  FISH-OIL FROM A PLANT - March 2014
[4]  SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY COMING SOON. IS IT 'NATURAL'? - October 2014

SOURCES:

• Two actions - one aim - a moratorium on GM animal feed imports, Faucheurs Volontaires Press Release 19.09.14 (Merci, Paul)
• Dominique Patton, China launches media campaign to back GM crops, Reuters 30.09.14