Visuals and illustrations by Daniel Rotsztain, theurbangeographer.ca | copyleft, please distribute widely.

GM soy has been grown in South America for more than a decade, most of which is exported to Europe for animal feed. 98% of Argentina soy crops are GM, mostly Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” crop which must be treated with the “Roundup Ready’’ pesticide. The use of this chemical fertilizer has been shown to cause DNA damage, birth defects, hormone disruption and neurological disorders, not to mention damaging effects on the environment, including pollution of water sources and soil degradation. ‘Superweeds’ have now developed, becoming an uncontrollable problem for farmers in the region.

Monsanto has successfully sued hundreds of farmers in the United States for breach of patenting laws after farmers have saved seeds, or even after GM genes were found in their fields through accidental cross pollination.

The Field Liberation Movement is a collective of concerned citizens that want to keep Belgium free from GMO crops in open fields. On May 29, 2011 the FLM organised the Great Potato Swap. Hundreds of citizens pulled up genetically modified potatoes and replaced them with organic varieties to stimulate debate about GMOs. Following the action, 11 of the activists were arbitrarily arrrested and charged with being part of a ‘criminal gang’ in a case that lasted more than 2 years. They received widespread support from civil society with 90 citizens voluntarily joining them in the docks to show they were part of a broader social movement.

CANADA

USA

MEXICO

HONDURAS

COSTA RICA

COLOMBIA

BRAZIL

BOLI

VIA

CHILE

ARGENTINA

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

CUBA

HAITI

BURKINA FASO

ZAMBIA

EGYPT

PORTUGAL

SPAIN

SWED

EN

ROMANIA

CZECH REPUBLIC

SLOVAKIA

CHINA

INDIA

PAKISTAN

PHILIPPINES

AUSTRALIA

BURMA

SOUTH AFRICA

BELGIUM

41%

41%

76%

E.U.

PERCENTAGE OF ARABLE LAND USED FOR GMO

PERCENTAGE OF ARABLE LAND GMO WORLD-WIDE:

FOR TOP GMO PRODUCING COUNTRIES

18%

ASEED.NET

This map was created with data available as of May 2014. Researched and edited by ASEED Europe.

ASEED is an action group based in Amsterdam which campaigns on issues related to food sovereignty and agriculture; seeds, genetic engineering & the power concentration of agro & biotech giants in the global food chain.

KEY TO AUTHORISED CROPS BY COUNTRY

Alfalfa

Tomato

Canola

Papaya

Soy

Cotton

Squash

Potato

Maize

Sugar beet

GMOS WORLDWIDE ASEED presents

and resistance to them!The largest companies worldwide that develop, own and trade GM seeds and crops

BASF

Ludwigshaven, Germany

BAYER

Leverkusen, Germany

DOW

Michigan, USA

MONSANTO

Kentucky, USA

*in 2007, Monsanto owned 87% of the world’s genetically modified seeds

PIONEER

Iowa, USA

SYNGENTA

Basel, Switzerland

LIMAGRAIN

Puy-de-Dôme, France

What are GMOs?Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are plants or animals that arecreated artificially through a laboratory process where the genes from onespecies are artificially inserted into the DNA of a different plant oranimal. Because organisms have barriers to protect themselves against theintroduction of new cells, scientists must force the new genes in usingtechniques such as electric shocks to make holes in the cell wall, orinfecting cells with viruses. Current knowledge about how DNA works is very limited, so the process cannot be carried out with any accuracy, potentially leading to mutations in the functioning of the plant or animal. This might mean poor crop performance, nutritional changes, toxic/ allergenic effects.

SWITZERLAND

NORW

AY

UKRAINE

BELARUS

SERBIA

CROATIA

BOSN

IA &

HERZ

EGOV

INA

TUNISIA

MALI

BENIN

CAMEROON

ETHIOPIA

KENYAPERU

SENEGAL

VIETNAM

THAILAND

TURKEY

KAZAKHSTAN

TAIWAN

SRI LANKA

SAUDI ARABIA

INDONESIA

NEW ZE

ALAN

D

JAPAN

SOUTH KOREA

JORDAN

MALAYSIA

ECUADOR

RUSSIA

EL SALVADOR

LABELLING LAWS

Ban on all GMO products(only 3 countries)

Mandatory labelling of all or almost all GMO products (47 countries)

Mandatory labelling of some GMO products (15 countries)

EVERYWHERE ELSE!No GMO labelling laws...

Since 2006, Wageningen University has been developing late blight resistant potatoes under the DuRPh project. Funded by the Dutch Ministry for Economic affairs, this 10 year project will cost 10 million Euros. The researchers are attempting to claim that their experiments are not GMO, as they are ‘cisgenesis’, which means that the genes inserted into the commercial potato varieties come from the same species. They argue that these varieties should not be subject to GM regulation such as safety testing and package labelling. If GMOs are not labeled it takes away the freedom farmers and consumers have in their food choices. Such a deregulation attempt by the researchers could lead to untested GMOs entering the food chain and environment in Europe.

In 2002, Zambia declined GMO food aid, which President Levy Mwanawasa called ´poison´. Despite criticism from abroad he maintained ¨I will not allow Zambians to be turned into guinea pigs no matter the levels of hunger in the country”. The ban on imports of GMOs in Zambia has been held since, with one exception of GM food aid being accepted in 2005.

In Haiti The National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papay rejected 60,000 hybrid corn and vegetable seed sacks given by Monsanto following the earthquake in 2010. The farmers committed to burning any GMO seeds pushed as aid on the countries farmers. The future of Haiti depends on the local production of local food for local consumption, which the arrival of Monsanto and GMOs threaten. ¨Fighting hybrid and GMO seeds is critical to save our diversity and our agriculture¨ said Chavanness Jean-Baptiste of the group who called for a rally to protest Monsanto’s post-earthquake presence in Haiti.

21%

74%

19%

11%

3,6%

6%

12%

Monsanto-owned BT cotton accounts for 93% of all cotton production in India. The patented BT cotton

seeds which contain an insecticidal toxin are expensive and cannot be replanted the following season.

Monsanto’s promises of bountiful harvest were not realised as insects developed resistance

to the toxin. As it is now almost impossible to source non-GM

cotton seeds in India, the farmers have no other choice

but to use these seeds. Farmers have increasingly

become trapped in debt leading to over 270, 000 farmer suicides.

GMO BANS in

At this moment GMOs are

an important issue on the

agenda of the free trade

negotiations between the

US and the EU (TTIP).

It is a priority for the

US to open the EU markets

for GM-products

Headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe, La Via Campesina unites migrant and agricultural workers from more than a hundred organisations worldwide. On International World Food Day in 2009, as world leaders were preparing to meet at the FAO World Food Summit in Rome, they mobilized international food movements to express rejection of Monsanto and GMOs. In Brazil, Via Campesina members carried out actions in the headquarters of Monsanto and Syngenta. In Europe they organized an anti-Monsanto brigade to travel throughout the continent and in the US there were teach-ins and demonstrations. In India, thousands of farmers carried out hunger strikes and occupied lands in protest.

LAND O’LAKES

Arden Hills, USA

At a wider level, the push for GMOs is inherently interlinked with the issue of a push toward corporate industrial agriculture, at the expense of small-scale farmers. Because GMOs are expensive to produce and take years of development and safety testing before marketing and sales, very few varieties enter production. GMOs only work economically when few varieties are produced on a very large scale, reducing the diversity of species. Plant varieties cannot survive unless they are grown year on year, meaning that thousands of heritage varieties will simply die out if they are replaced with GM monoculture.

and resistance to them!

GMOS WORLDWIDE ASEED presents

WHAT’S WRONG WITH GENETIC MODIFICATION?There are direct and in-direct risks associated with cultivating GMOs. More independent scientific research is needed to clearly evaluate these risks, and to address agribusiness lobbying based on the outcome of industry-funded research.

ø GENE FLOW AND OUT-CROSSING

Once GMOs are out of the lab and into open fields, they cannot be kept under control. It it the very nature of plants : seeds will drift, pollen will be spread through the air or on the legs of bees, and genes from GMOs can spread into both crop and wild plant varieties. The exact consequences of such a gene flow are unknown, but it could adversely effect the populations of wild species and contaminate other crops with unwanted genes. This out-crossing of genes from GMOs means they could be present in any food without us knowing.

ø MONOCULTURE

ø LOSING CONTROL OVER OUR FOOD SYSTEM

In order to profit from GMOs, a huge biotech companies are patentingseeds at a terrifying rate. This includes conventional and organicvarieties. Without seed patents, companies cannot create GMvarieties, but once patents are acquired, they create a monopoly on those varieties in the market. Currently 6 multinationals (Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow, and BASF) control 60% of the commercial seed market, 75% of all private sector plant breeding research and 76% of global agrochemical sales.

BUT DON’T WE NEED GMO TO FEED THE WORLD?

well...The main problem is not an agricultural failure, but a political and economic failure. The world produces enough food to feed everyone and production has been increasing substantially in recent years. Distribution issues, market volatility caused by excessive speculation on commodities and poverty cause some people to starve, whilst feed sits rotting rotting in stores.

BANS IN EUROPE

The EU has approved many GMOs, most of these for use in animal feed and food processing, but individual countries are able to opt out of growing them. However, most EU countries are not permitted to reject the sale of GM foods.

1 type of food crop is currently approved for cultivation in Europe;Monsanto's Maize MON810. BASF’s Amflora starch potato was recentlywithdrawn from the European markets due to a lack of acceptance and because of incorrect procedures. DuPont's Pioneer 1507 Maize is in the current process of receiving approval from the EU despite widespread resistance from national governments.

Any crop approved at EU level can be grown anywhere in the Union but individual governments can present a case for blocking it nationally if they believe that cultivation could present a health or environmental risk. At present 8 countries – Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg and Poland have used this to stop GM crops.

There are now at least 26 countries that have total or partial bans on GMOs. See the map on the other side for all the countries and regions.

free-zones

GMO

DID YOU KNOW?

Ø PEASANT FARMERS FEED 70% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION AND USE 30% OF THE WORLD'S AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.

Whereas the industrial food chain uses 70% of the world´s agricultural resources and produces just 30% of the world´s food supply.

ø 75.3% OF THE WORLDS SEED MARKET IS CONTROLLED BY 10 COMPANIES In 2007, Monsanto owned 87% of the world’s gentically

modified seeds.

ø 90 PERCENT OF GM SOY GROWN AROUND THE WORLD GOES INTO ANIMAL FEED.Aside from soybeans, other GM products used in livestock feed include corn, cotton, canola, alfalfa, and sugar beets.

ø IN 1982 THE FIRST GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANT WAS DEVELOPED -

- a tobacco plant with antibacterial resistance

CAN WE PUT A PATENT ON LIFE?

In the EU, patents are given out by the European Patent Office (EPO). Organisms can not be patented, but the process to make them can. This is why they refer to patents on 'GMO events'. In the EU, Bayer currently owns 206 of the total number of 2,000 patents on ´events´ for transgenic crops. Bayer is followed by Pioneer - 179 patents, BASF - 144 patents, Syngenta - 135 patents and Monsanto - 119 patents.

3 STEPS to REGULATION in EUROPE

Between 1990 and 1997, the first regulatory system was established in line with General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) - and WTO-guidelines. In 1993 for example the EU signed an international agreement in favor of the consumption of GMO-products, based on the principle of “substantial equivalence”, meaning that if GM-food had the same nutritious and health values as non-GM foods, it should be allowed. When the majority of the Council decided against approving new GMO crops, the European Commission often overruled the Council and authorized approval.

In 1999, the Council of (national) Ministers decided to put a halt on any new approvals for GM-products and GM-crops, until there was better European regulation. For 2 years there were no new approvals, until the new Directive 2001/18 regarding cultivation was installed in 2001, Based on the safety clausule in the 2001 directive, it has been possible for several countries to ban particular GMO’s from their fields. Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Germany and Luxembourg have already done so.

In 2002 the European Food Safety Authority was established to test the safety of new GMO crops. In 2003, new regulations were decided on, which included mandatory labeling and mandatory traceability.

In the current regulatory system, the coexistence policy is regarded the most problematic. Coexistence is based on the idea that coexistence of GMO and non GMO crops is achievable which has proven to be not possible. The regulations on GMO’s in the EU, and especially the coexistence policy, are weak because of insufficient definitions, and insufficient support for them by national governments and the people they represent.

The USA complained about the temporary ban on new GMO-approvals by the EU between 1999 and 2003 at the WTO, which led to a WTO-dispute between 2003 and 2006. The EU based its defense on the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (a Convention which is ratified by all countries worldwide, except the USA, Andorra and Somalia). The WTO however decided against the EU’s precautionary measures, stating they were not in line with international trade agreements.

According to Krämer (2013), current EU regulations on genetically engineered organisms are not based on the correct article of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which would be Article 192. This article would allow EU countries to adopt their own legislation to protect the environment. So Member States could still stop authorisations for cultivation or adopt their own legislation if they would insist on their rights as foreseen in Article 192, TFEU.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

RESISTANCE

Founded by Vandana Shiva, Navdanya is a women centred network of seed keepers and organic producers across 17 states in India. Navdanya has helped set up 111 community seed banks across the country, conserved 5000 crop vari-eties and trained over 500,000 farmers in seed and food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture.

In 2006 when the trials for a new GMO crop, BT Brinjal, began in India, Navdanya started the movement which halted its introduction to Indian markets. In 2011 Navdanya supplied 250 kgs of organic GMO free brinjals to the world's biggest organic ‘baingan ka bharta’ in Delhi against the introduction of Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2011. The BRAI would enable a single window clearance system for genetically modified crops giving power to bio-tech companies, while their critics would be prosecuted. BRAI could not be passed because of resistance from citizens and within parliament.

RESISTANCE

www.ASEED.net

‘The GE Process’ The Institute for Responsible Technology, - http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-basics/the-ge-process

‘The world food problem: toward ending undernutrition in the third world’ Leathers, H., & Foster, P. (2009) Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc.

‘Agriculture and Food—Agricultural Production Indices: Food production per capita index’, World Resources Institute

‘Putting the Cartel before the Horse’ ETC Group (2013) - http://www.etcgroup.org/content/new-report-putting-cartel-horse%E2%80%A6and-farm-seeds-soil-peasants

Monsanto VS Farmers 2012 update’ Center for Food Safety, ‘ http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/monsanto-v-us-farmer-2012-update-final_98931.pdf

Huff, E. A., ‘RoundUp GM Soy South America’, Natural News, http://www.naturalnews.com/041047_roundup_gm_soy_south_america.html#ixzz2j1TM2Fbn

‘Biopiracy and GMOs: The Fate of Iraq’s Agriculture’. Global Research Centre for research on globalization,: http://www.globalresearch.ca/biopiracy-and-gmos-the-fate-of-iraq-s-agriculture/1447

Schubert, D and Williams, D (2006) ‘On cisgenetics’: Vol. 24 No. 11 Nature Biotechnology

Jayaraman, K.S (14 February 2012). "India investigates Bt cotton claims". Nature - International weekly journal of science. Retrieved 27 September 2013.

‘Haitian Farners Commit to Burning Monsanto Hybrid Seeds’, Global research , Centre for research on Globalization : ; http://www.globalresearch.ca/haitian-farmers-to-burn-donated-monsanto-seeds/19229

Peasants Worldwide Rise up Against Monsanto, GMOs. La Via Campesina,http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-transnational-corporations-mainmenu-76/771-peasants-worldwide-rise-up-against-monsanto-gmosNavdanya's organic eggplant at the world's biggest GMO free Baingan Bharta:: Navdanya website http://www.navdanya.org/news/200-navdanyas-organic-eggplant-at-the-worlds-biggest-gmo-free-baingan-bharta

‘Forging Food Sovereignty’, Food First website ; http://www.foodfirst.org/en/farmers+forging+food+sovereignty

Stieber Z. ‘GMOs, A Global Debate: Zambia, Strongest Anti-GMO Stance in Africa’, Epoch Times - http://www.theepoch-times.com/n3/280808-gmos-a-global-debate-zambia-strongest-anti-gmo-stance-in-africa/?photo=2Field Liberation Movement website: http://www.fieldliberation.org/about/actions/?lang=en

‘Belgian protesters destroy GM field trial’ Food Freedom https://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/belgian-protest-ers-destroy-gm-field-trial/‘Labeling Around the World’, Just Label It ; http://justlabelit.org/right-to-know/labeling-around-the-world/#sthash.T87txVbY.dpuf‘Genetically Engineered Food Labelling Laws’ Center for Food Safety, , http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/ge-map/

Longo, N., ‘Most Nations in the World Have No GMO-Free Platform To Protect Their Citizens’, Signsof the Times http://www.sott.net/article/246167-Most-Nations-in-the-World-Have-No-GMO-Free-Platform-To-Protect-Their-Citizens

‘GMO-free news from the Netherlands’, GMO-free Europe http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/gmo-free-regions/netherlands.html

‘Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013’, ISAAA Brief 46-2013 http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publica-tions/briefs/46/executivesummary/default.asp

‘Ogm Cultures dans le Monde 2013’, Europa Bio-http://www.europabio.org/sites/default/files/ogm_cultures_dans_le_monde_2013.png

Devos, Y., Demont, M., Dillen, K.,Reheul, D., Kaiser, M. and Sanvido, O. (2009) ‘Coexistence of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops in the European Union - a review’, Agronomy for Sustainable Development no. 29.

Levidow, Les & Boschert, Karin (2008) ‘Coexistence or contradiction? GM crops versus alternative agricultures in Europe’, Geoforum no 39 p. 174–190

Tiberghien, Yves (2009) ‘Competitive Governance and the Quest for Legitimacy in the EU: the Battle over the Regulation of GMOs since the mid‐1990s’, Journal of European Integration, 31:3, 389-407cbgnetwork.org

Antoniou, (2012) ‘GMO Myths and truths’

Howard, Philip H. (2009) ‘Visualizing Consolidation in the Global Seed Industry’: 1996–2008, Sustainability, no. 1, p. 1266-1287

Coll, (2011) ‘Excessive speculation on food commodities’, Institute for agriculture and Trade Policies: http://www.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/PE/2011/08247.pdf

and further readingREFERENCES

Declaring a region GM-free is a bottom-up way to exert influence on GMOs policies. Becoming GM-free could come from local authorities and although not legally binding, they can put pressure on central authorities.

In July 2011 the Community Council of Nijmegen declared the city GMO-free.

Since January 26, 2011 the Dutch province of Friesland is the first GMO-free region in the Netherlands. In 2013 there were also attempts by the Party for the Animals to make Amsterdam a GMO-free zone, but so far these attempts weren’t passed by the city's council.

FRIESLAND

NIJMEGEN

There are many substate GMO-free zones across the globe. Two of these are in the Netherlands, where ASEED is based.

GM crops are causing the spread of pesticide resistance in weeds leading to an ever increasing number and volume of herbicides applied. Herbicide-resistant crop technology has led to an overall pesticide use increase of an estimated 183 million kgs (404 million pounds), or about 7% since 1996. With further herbicide resistantcrops being approved, this figure will increase.

ø PESTICIDES

ø UNKNOWN RISKS TO PEOPLE & ANIMALS

Not enough is known about the risks of eating GM crops as research on the effects of specific genes is both limited—and tightly controlled by the biotech industry. Without rigorous approval processes there is also no way to ensure that crops that pose risks will be kept off the market.

RESISTANCE

An initiative of Food First, The Farmer’s Pollinator Project works with indigenous and co-op farmers from the Campesino a Campesino movement in Mexico to incorporate knowledge of pollinators into their farmer-to-farmer training modules for sustainable agriculture. The workshops give farmers the opportunity to explore new areas for sharing, including seeds, products and market information.

FOOD-FIRST