Activists Destroy GE Crops at Research Facility (CA, USA)

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Frontline Information Service - News 5/17/01

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Activists Destroy GE Crops at Research Facility

_____________

 

GENETIX ALERT NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Denny Henke

Cell: 901.438.9907 Office: 901.458.9907

May 17, 2001

 

 

Activists Destroy GE Crops at Research Facility in

Brentwood, CA

 

Brentwood, CA - On May 16th, 2001 anti-biotech direct

actionists destroyed transgenic strawberry, tomato,

and onion plants were uprooted and destroyed.

According to the communique " a group dedicated to the

right to good food, untainted by genetic engineering,

occupied and acted against one DNA Plant Technology

research facility. "

 

The communique continues " DNA Plant Technology

Holdings was recently acquired by ELM, a multinational

bioengineering corporation that also owns Seminis

Vegetable Seeds, the largest distributor of fruit and

vegetable seeds in the world. DNAP is currently

growing more than 15,000 acres of genetically

engineered field crops crops under in Mexico and the

US, mostly without the public's knowledge. DNAP has

more than 50 patents for such technologies as

promoters, gene introduction, selectable markers plant

regeneration. "

 

This action, the 3rd of 2001, comes nearly 2 months

after an action by OSU students in Corvallis, OR.

Since November 1998 there have been over 40

anti-genetic direct actions in North America. The

direct actionists continue to maintain that

biotechnology is completely unnecessary and is being

developed at the expense of human and ecological

health solely to increase the profits of large

multinational corporations. With the North American

growing season at hand it is likely that direct

actions against facilities producing and testing

genetically engineered organisms will resume.

 

The activists link the direct action movement against

biotechnology to the developing movement against

global capitalism stating that " In recent years,

more and more Americans are becoming fed up with

corporate secrecy and lack of accountability for the

changes they make in communities, human health, and

the

environment. The backlash against the WTO was one sign

of this dissatisfaction, and ongoing

anti-biotechnology test plot sabotage actions are

another.

Upset by what we were learning of the health and

environmental ramifications of Roundup Ready

technology and of the business practices of Seminis

and DNAP in particular, we rounded up our favorite

animal friends and decided to take action in spite of

their boasted security measures. "

 

The communique concludes " Safely outside on DNAP's

poisoned earth, we turned our attention to a half acre

test plot of mature onion plants that deserved to

share the tomatoes' and strawberries' fate. Our frenzy

of uprooting took down another experiment in 5

minutes. A good nights work lying in shreds behind us,

we melted into the night the way we had come. "

 

*Attached is copy of the communique.

 

 

 

--- Begin communique ---

 

In the early morning of May 16th, 2001 a group

dedicated to the right to good food, untainted by

genetic engineering, occupied and acted against one

DNA Plant Technology research facility. This research

location is located outside of Brentwood CA on Balfour

Road, 1/2 mile east of Highway 4. We prevented

further steps in transgenic crop experiments, within

this entity, from occurring this season. Transgenic

strawberry, tomato, and onion plants were uprooted and

destroyed.

 

This is not the first time that people have taken

direct action against transgenic strawberry

experiments: the first anti-GE action in the US

took place less than a mile from the DNAP facility.

Nighttime gardeners targeted GenTech's Frostban

strawberry, setting the stage for more than 50

anti-GE actions to date.

 

DNA Plant Technology Holdings was recently acquired by

ELM, a multinational bioengineering corporation that

also owns Seminis Vegetable Seeds, the largest

distributor of fruit and vegetable seeds in the world.

DNAP is currently growing more than 15,000 acres of

genetically engineered field crops

crops under in Mexico and the US, mostly without the

public's knowledge. DNAP has more than 50 patents for

such technologies as promoters, gene introduction,

selectable markers plant regeneration. One gene

silencing technology, trademarked Transwitch, allows

agribusinessmen to switch genes on and off at will,

for example the gene responsible for ethylene

production in tomatoes. The Flavr Savr tomato utilizes

this technology to create a tomato with a shelf life

of two to three weeks. Like most applications of

genetic engineering, this trait benefits neither the

workers who grow the tomato nor the people who buy

these pale-pink, plastic-wrapped, nutritionally zapped

tomatoes.

 

In 1999, DNAP entered into a " technology collaboration

agreement " with Monsanto in order to adapt Monsanto's

Roundup Ready technology to strawberries. Faced

with the phase-out of methyl bromide (a highly-toxic

herbicide/ soil fumigant) in 2003, DNAP hopes to force

chemical-dependent farmers to adopt this new weed

control technology. Meanwhile, the " fruits of such

manipulations are filling up the shelves of our

supermarkets. They come with a cheap price per

pound, but hold the least nutritional value.

 

DNAP has pushed the EPA to change its standards for

allowable worker exposure to Roundup. Since workers

enter the fields two times per week to pick the

berries, their exposure to this toxic and carcinogenic

herbicide would be greatly increased by the

implementation of this technology. In addition,

Roundup Ready technology results in the fields being

literally saturated with poison, with dire effects on

the health of the soil. Once again, the giants of

genetic modification are sacrificing the health of the

people and the land for a pure profit motive.

 

Now DNAP is moving into so-called " second wave "

research which is trying to incorporate drugs into the

tissues of food plants. But our resistance is

rooted deep in the land, and as long as they attempt

to develop these alter our food, our resistance will

continue.

 

Researching this company and it's facilities, we

discovered an unusual level of secrecy surrounding

it's operations. DNA Plant Holdings was

conspicuously absent from tax assessors listings, had

no posted signs of any sort in this otherwise

neighborly agricultural community, and otherwise went

to great lengths to conceal the nefarious nature of

their business. We unearthed a report for DNAP

stockholders that boasted of the site's remoteness and

inaccessibility to public view. Seminis, also owned by

ELM, has been a frequent target of anti-biotechnology

actions, and the DNAP report reflected this paranoia.

They even reassured the stockholders that the test

plots were protected by security guards against 'fauna

trespassers'.

 

In recent years, more and more Americans are becoming

fed up with corporate secrecy and lack of

accountability for the changes they make in

communities, human health, and the environment. The

backlash against the WTO was one sign of this

dissatisfaction, and ongoing anti-biotechnology test

plot sabotage actions are another. Upset by what we

were learning of the health and environmental

ramifications of Roundup Ready technology and of the

business practices of Seminis and DNAP in particular,

we rounded up our favorite animal friends and

decided to take action in spite of their boasted

security measures.

 

On a dark night we slipped through the open field

surrounding the experimental facility. Working less

than 50 feet from a brightly-lit house equipped

with motion sensor/security light apparently aimed at

the DNAP fields, we entered the 1-acre strawberry test

plot. True to Roundup Ready test protocol, the

plants were enveloped in a dense carpet of weeds,

ready for application of the poisonous herbicide. We

removed an acre of the enormous, leathery

Frankenplants to a short new life- in plastic bags

full of bleach to prevent any possibility of survival

and replanting.

 

We next proceeded to one of the two greenhouses of

DNAP's tomato experiments. We took a walk right

through the walls, found a 1/4 acre of 4-foot tall

fruiting tomatoes and dispatched them to their

rightful dwelling place in hell. We invalidated the

year's experiment in less than 10 minutes, and

caused some uncounted amount of economic damage.

 

Safely outside on DNAP's poisoned earth, we turned our

attention to a half acre test plot of mature onion

plants that deserved to share the tomatoes' and

strawberries' fate. Our frenzy of uprooting took down

another experiment in 5 minutes. A good nights work

lying in shreds behind us, we melted into

the night the way we had come.

 

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^END COMMUNIQUE^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

GenetiX Alert is an independent news center that works

with other above-ground, anti-genetic engineering

organizations. GA has no knowledge of the person(s)

who carryout any underground actions. GA does not

advocate illegal acts, but seeks to explain why people

destroy genetically engineered crops and undertake

other nonviolent actions aimed at resisting genetic

engineering and increasing the difficulty for entities

which seek to advance genetic engineering or its

products. GA spokespeople are available for media

interviews. An archive of anti-biotech direct actions

can be found at http://tao.ca/~ban/ar.htm

 

Reporters and other interested parties may contact

GenetiX Alert at:

cell phone: 901.438.9907

office phone: 901.458.9907

email: genetixalert

Web: http://tao.ca/~ban/gapo.htm

787 Ellsworth

Memphis, TN 38111 USA

contact: Denny Henke

 

 

 

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