FEBRUARY 8, 2001
NFU OFFICIAL ADDRESSES FRENCH FARM PROTEST
MONT-PELLIER, France--NFU National Board member Terry Boehm today addressed a noon rally of farmers and citizens in Mont-Pellier. The Confederation Paysanne, a French farm organization, set up the meeting.
Up to 2000 people, many farmers, showed their support for French farm activist José Bové and voiced concerns over genetically modified (GM) foods. Bové is on trial and facing a $1 million lawsuit and five years in jail because he and several Indian farmers destroyed a GM rice test plot in France. After the rally, protesters marched to the Mont-Pellier courthouse.
Boehm told French farmers to continue to resist the introduction of GM foods. He told them about Canadian farmers' experiences with GM crops, about rising input costs, market loss, and declining prices for GM crops such as canola.
"Past agricultural technologies have not fulfilled their promises. Fertilizer was supposed to make our farms profitable. So were weed sprays and large tractors. We've embraced all these technologies and the result is not profit, but a worldwide farm crisis. Farmers should be very skeptical of corporations selling new technologies and promising profits. There are profits, but they go to the corporations, not farmers," said Boehm.
Boehm noted that agreements such as the TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) protect corporations and ensure profits but include no protections for the environment or the livelihoods of independent farmers. "Genetic modification corporations practice science without conscience or vision. The mere existence of a GM crop does not justify its introduction into the environment or our economy if we do not know what its effects may be," said Boehm.
Boehm also urged French farmers to continue to resist trade liberalization and deregulation. "Canada has experienced extreme and wrenching structural adjustment of its farm sector. The result has been fewer farm families and weakened communities. We've doubled exports and doubled them again. We've gained tremendous access to world markets. The result, however, is a farm crisis," said Boehm.
At its recent Convention, NFU members from across Canada adopted a detailed policy on GM foods which calls for a "moratorium on the production, importation, distribution, and sale of GM food." That policy is on the NFU website: www.nfu.ca
Terry Boehm has worked in Canada to prevent the introduction of genetically modified flax. Flax growers have watched canola growers lose markets around the world as a result of GM canola. Canola prices are near record lows.
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For More Information:
Terry Boehm, NFU Board member: Paris 011 33 1 44 84 72 50
Darrin Qualman, Executive Secretary: (306) 652-9465