Farmers in three Australian States are seeking public support for a Senate inquiry into the post-commercialisation impacts of existing regulated GM crops – as a Western Australian (WA) farmer who lost much of livelihood due to GM contamination seeks to crowd-source legal costs for his landmark trial.
Steve Marsh, an organic farmer from Kojonup, south of Perth, lost organic certification for most of his farm when GM canola contaminated his crop. He is suing his neighbour in the Supreme Court of WA, in a landmark world’s first trial beginning on February 10 2014.
Yesterday independent South Australia Senator Nick Xenophon launched the farmers www.change.org/contamination petition, and videos and a website for the Safe Food Foundation, which is coordinating fundraising for Steve’s case which is already attracting global interest as the first of its kind.
The www.change.org/contamination petition in 24 hours has attracted more than 21,000 signatures.
While law firm Slater & Gordon is providing legal work on a pro bono basis under their public interest policy, other substantial costs, for barristers and experts, requires significant further fundraising for the fast approaching trial.
SUPPORT STEVE MARSH, DONATE, SEE VIDEOS, LEARN MORE: www.safefoodfoundation.org
Steve is supported by many, including TV celebrities, but he hopes that his battle will get broad public support. Steve’s stand on being allowed to choose what he wants to grow – organic, non-GM crops – is the same as our right to choose what we want to eat.
Or as ABC TV’s Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis put it: “Steve Marsh is one person, but Steve Marsh is everyone.”
Masterchef celebrity Matt Preston has praised Steve Marsh’s courage in risking his farm for his beliefs. “For Steve to take this stand, it’s very easy for us to sit back and ‘That’s great, Steve. Good luck, mate, and hope it goes well.’ But it’s also a matter of us providing support for Steve and what Steve’s doing is fighting that one big battle for everyone. And everyone has an interest in this case.”
Chef and TV presenter Kylie Kwong is also backing the campaign: “I support Steve Marsh’s case to ensure that farmers have the right to grow GM-free food for all of us.”
SENATE PETITION
A separate but critical part of the campaign to stop GM crops taking over Australian food is the petition at www.change.org/contamination
This is the initiative of farmers Bob Mackley from Western Victoria, Fred Haskins from New South Wales, and Janette Liddelow from WA. Bob Mackley, a fourth-generation grain farmer, was hit hard in January 2011 when floods washed GM canola from his neighbour’s paddocks onto his property. He was unable to sell his crop.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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We need to show that democracy isn’t dead and our rights to a choice of clean food must be retained.
spread the word Steve & his family needs public support as this will effect generations now & future & Toodyay has GMO & more licenses are been processed NOW so its growing & the public are not aware of whats happening in their back yards
It is imperative that Steve Marsh wins this battle, because it is not just for a patch of dirt in WA, its for the whole planet & those of us that believe we have the right, without question, to wholesome unadulterated food, & pure seeds that can be saved year after year on our own property for re- sowing!
CONTAMINATION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THOSE WHO INTRODUCE IT NOT THOSE WHO ARE INNOCENT NEIGHBOURS!
There is a growing global backlash against Monsanto in recent years, and moreso since the various #Occupy movements including #OccupyMonsanto.
This case then, doesn’t just affect Steve, but all those who are making conscious choices about what they put into their bodies, and trying to avoid the dirty fallout of GMO crops in the human body with all the multitude of health problems it has proven to cause.
Lab rats who were fed GMO corn in studies had their stomachs explode from all the Round Up they had ingested in the GMO lifecycle of the corn- is it any wonder that we have IBS, food intolerances, etc when there are now more of these denatured toxic fake foods on the shelves than there are foods that aren’t harmful.
It is disgusting to me that this has become the global accepted norm, and that governments in bed with corrupt bullying organisations like Monsanto have allowed this and sold us out.
Those then doing the right thing have to go to the ends of the earth to defend themselves from the lies, colluding and corruption.
I support Steve’s fight against these elitist, arrogant, covert, bullying lying pigs- I support anybody going through anything like this.
“At times to be silent is to lie. You will win because you have enough brute force. But you will not convince. For to convince you need to persuade. And in order to persuade you would need what you lack: reason and right.”
Miguel de Unamuno.
The West Australian government is corrupt, and we need a big housecleaning before they make matters worse. Of all the people to bring Monsanto into Australia is would have to be them. Take a look at what these tyrants have done to the Burrup region outside of Perth… more than 40,000 years of ancient aboriginal artifacts are now being destroyed, blown to pieces in their haste to capitalize on the oil deposits. That’s a whole library of information on 40,000 years of history than we could learn from. Instead of investing in sustainable energy, with all the choices we have to focus on, this retarded government prefers to destroy the environment. If Gina Rinehart invested her earnings more smartly instead of raping Australia, destroying the beautiful environment, and depriving future generations of resources Australia could be a role model for the rest of the world in a time when we NEED IT MOST. In regards to GMO, Australia needs to take a good look at the problems escalating in the USA. Farrmers who once grew GMO are now waking up to the BIG CON, realizing that the biotechs have sold them on bullshit promises. Other countries won’t touch US GMO produce so it has seriously impacted the exports. Living in the USA, people are pissed! They have no idea what foods on the shelves are contaminated with GMO because the biotechs have poured millions into propaganda campaigns to stop the need to label foods. Will they be labeling GMO-tainted food in Australia? You better jump on a campaign for that immediately before this issue gets out of hand like it has here. Once GMO is in your soy, wheat, alfalfa, beets, corn, etc.. it is infiltrated into EVERY food item you see on the supermarket shelves by way of additives and fillers etc like corn syrup, canola oil. Additionally, GMO has indirectly impacted the environment in a disastrous way. Our bees are dying!! I have to hand-pollinate most of my fruit and vegetables here in Maui, Hawaii where Monsanto grows most of its GMO death seed. I also grow milkweed to help the Monarch populations and i’m watching them disappear in numbers right before my eyes. The rates of digestive diseases have skyrocketed over the past 20 years since GMOs were quietly introduced into the food system in the USA. People need to realize that those in power are sociopaths… they should not be there, they have not undergone intensive psychiatric analysis to see if they are fit to govern in leadership roles. That should be mandatory. I heard also that the CSIRO, another corrupt government organization has been discussing introducing GMO wheat in Queensland. Anyone have any updates on that?
Let’s Steve Marsh win this battle
Please stop Monsanto. our food chain is being polluted by GMO. We are so much more unhealthy with so much more to chose from because of the alterations in our basic foods.It needs to stop now. More is not necessarily better.