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traditional agricultural methods, with very low the global solidarity of farmers in the face of corporate globalization. The
mechanization, and without the use of chemicals, corporate takeover of agriculture has impoverished farmers, starved com-
so the soil is healthier, and so are the plants grown munities, and force-fed us hazardous genetically-engineered crops, only to
there. The majority of small farms are no larger line the pockets of a handful of multinational corporations like Monsanto at
than five hectares. the expense of farmers who are struggling for land and livelihood around
Industrial-bent foreign corporations are keen the world!”
to expand their operations in Poland, and many You can read more about land grabs by multinationals at the Pesticide
small farmers see the increasingly ridiculous Action Network, as well as other sites. The actions of these companies
regulations as an attempt to force families off keep the world hungry and sick, not well-fed. As the Global Policy Forum
their land. explains, unfair distribution of land, and unfair access to ownership explain
Furthermore, one of Poland’s biggest indus- much of the poverty and hunger in the world—not, as biotech would have
trial producers, Smithfield (the world’s biggest us believe, the inability to grow enough food. It̕ s all about distribution.
pork producer, which bought Poland’s Animex It is the one-percenters, owning most of the multinational companies,
SA in 1999) is influencing the largely right-wing not rural farmers, who commandeer the land. Even when small farmers do
government. They own a string of sixteen hog own land, they still suffer from inequality due to government regulations
farms where conditions have been called “hor- that favor these enormous companies.
rendous,” so you know The struggle for land
they are not interested reform, which would
in protecting small shift the balance of
farmers’ land rights power in favor of
or producing high- marginalized land-
quality, non-GMO, less farmers, has been
organic food. going on for many
The triad of gov- decades. However
ernment and corpo- the food and financial
rate interests in Po- crises contribute to
land along with EU worsening the trend
pressure is causing towards land concen-
the protests to reach a tration, in which gov-
more fevered pitch. ernments, agro-industrial corporations and private investors buy up fertile
Another farmer said, “These protests are land in poor countries, largely to spread GMOs depriving small farmers
touching the raw nerve of what’s wrong with of their ability to grow their own food.
the inhuman, neo-liberal and profit-obsessed Read more: naturalsociety.com/hundreds-of-farmers-block-roads-in-
practices of today, practices which ignore the protest-of-monsantos-gmo-crops/#ixzz3TGZ6bto5.
real needs of farmers and consumers alike.”
Polish farmers have joined millions of oth-
ers in protesting against Monsanto, Cargill, and
other biotech and Big Ag interests, which have
little concern for the quality of our food supply.
Farmers in over fifty countries have marched
against Monsanto, so the thousands marching
in Poland are not alone. Almost all states in the JOURNAL NOW AVAILABLE AS
U.S. have marched against Monsanto and Big A DIGITAL TALKING BOOK FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Ag, and Vermont recently staged a protest at the
U.S.-Canadian border which involved more than We now have our journal converted into an audio format for
seventy-nine Vermont towns. the visually impaired. Special software is required for this, such
Hillary Martin, a farmer from Burlington, as Dolphin Easy Reader. Go to the JOURNALS tab on our home
Vermont, states the internationally shared aims page. Starting with Fall 2011, click the journal you are interested
against these bullies clearly: in. Please tell others! Many thanks to Amy Adams of ePubUSA.
com for this service!
“We are here at the border to demonstrate
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