23 TIPS ON HOW TO FIGHT FOR FOOD SECURITY by Laura Weileby 1.) DEMAND LABELLING - SUPPORT BILL C-257 Write or call your legislators and tell them you want genetically modified (GM) food labelled and new GM crops restricted. Companies proud of what they sell, want to advertise their product. In a day and age where people want to know MORE about what is in the food they are consuming, corporations such as Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, Bayer, Nestles, General Mills, Pepsi and Coca Cola, spend millions of dollars to fight legislation that would require mandatory labelling of GM ingredients. I suggest that if they’re worried about telling us what’s in their food, we should be worried about eating it. 2.) DEMAND AN OUTRIGHT BAN ON GMOS! If other countries can legislate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) labelled, some outright ban them from being imported, grown or used in their countries, so can we! COUNTRIES WITH BANS: Albania, Australia & New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom Just last month China destroyed 3 shipments of GM corn. They didn’t turn them away. They outright destroyed them! Hungary’s response to finding 1000 acres of GM corn was to burn it down! 3.) SIGN THE MANY ONLINE PETITIONS REQUESTING LABELLING. Stay informed of, and abreast of pending legislation. Stop harmful legislation before it takes affect. Sign the petition seeking a moratorium on GM alfalfa production in Canada. 4.) SHOP ORGANIC - AVOID GM FOODS - BOYCOTT MONSANTO! Actively shop for non GMO foods, and boycott Monsanto! Check out the Comprehensive Boycott Guide: organicconsumers.org/articles/article_26638.cfm or other comprehensive lists of GMO products to avoid, such as: shiftfrequency/comprehensive-list-of-gmo-products. 5.) DRIVE THE EXTRA MILE AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ORGANIC FARMERS. Shop local and at farmer’s markets. More than half of GM foods are made in the U.S. The more we shop organic, the more farmers will grow organic, and the more readily available organic produce will become. The more competition in selling organic, the more the price will come down, and it will become financially available to all. 6.) DOWNLOAD BUYCOTT. Buycott is a free application you can download to your cell phone and program to tell you what foods you are considering for purchase contain GMO ingredients, and are made by companies you do not support. Check it out at: buycott/ 7.) GROW YOUR OWN FOOD. Start your own organic garden. There are so many cool ways to grow your own food, even if you live in an apartment building or confined space. - salad greens are easy to grow. - garlic, green onion, avocados are all simple to sprout. - get into vertical farming; plant rows of food along your walls. - convert furniture into stands to house organic plants - hang strings of plants in front of windows to ensure they get light. - grow potatoes in barrels or large plant pots. - grow your organic garden on your balcony. - make use of a corner of your backyard to feed your family healthy food Websites to check out for growing food at home include: organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10529.cfm and openideo/open/localfood/concepting/grow-your-own- food-in-your- apartment 8.) WRITE OR CALL COMPANIES AND ASK THEM IF THEY USE GM PRODUCTS. The more companies hear that consumers are unwilling to buy products with genetically modified ingredients, the more they will seek out conventional food ingredients. Let them know of your concerns, and where you’re looking to spend your money. 9.) ASK YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET TO CARRY MORE NON-GMO PRODUCTS. Give them specific brands to make it easier for them to meet your needs and then follow through. Ensure you ask them if they got the products you were asking about. 10.) EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT GM FOOD ISSUES Read, read, read! Visit user friendly webpages, such as cban.ca (Canadian Biotechnology Action Network), march-against-monsanto and the facebook page, March Against Monsanto, Victoria, BC, and stay current on GM news. 11.) LIMIT YOUR CONSUMPTION OF FAST FOOD AND FACTORY MEATS AND EGGS. These are all huge consumers of GM feed, particularly corn. 12.) CONSUME WHOLE FOODS - cook from scratch. 13.) WRITE OR CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS Tell them you want GM foods to be labeled and new GM crops restricted. 14.) TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBOURS, YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT GMOs and the need to be aware of what they are eating. 15.) SELF EMPOWERMENT - PUBLICLY SPEAK OUT It is our basic right to know what we’re eating. Take it upon yourself to publicly speak out against GM food. Speak up at your local PTA, and other community meetings. ENGAGE, EDUCATE AND EMPOWER THOSE AROUND YOU TO SPEAK OUT Tell everyone about GMOs, and why we should be enraged by our government’s lack of protection of its people. Support one another in publicly spreading the word. To Youth. You can’t complain about what life is offering up to you, if you’re sitting on the sidelines, disengaged. Get involved with your community. Be a part of something bigger than your everyday life. You get what you give in this world, and the world needs your energy, your youthful outlook, your lack of fear. Make sure you do your part. 16.) ADVERTISE YOUR BELIEFS Make up tee shirts with your favourite mottos you want to catch on, and wear them out, especially when you grocery shop. List on the back of your shirt clear info of what to buy/not buy and why. Put bumper stickers on your vehicles, signs on your lawns and in your windows. 17.) LEAD BY EXAMPLE Stop yourself from reaching for the Frito Lays. Bring your own certified organic munchies to parties. Let people approach you, and ask about your tee shirt message, the patch on your sleeve, the No GMO button on your purse. When you’re out with your friends, say outright, “No thanks, I think I’ll have the organic food, myself.” Show others how possible it is to stand by your beliefs, and not remain part of the crowd. 18.) CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY Join or start a group in your community to share information and action. Join the March Against Monsanto, Victoria, BC. Everyone welcome! 19.) SAVE SEEDS Fight corporate control over seeds and protect organic farming. Listen to environmental activists like Dr. Vandana Shiva and create seed banks so we will never have to be dependent on corporations like Monsanto, attempting to take over our food supply. 20.) WRITE THE GOVERNMENT AND DEMAND PRINTED INFORMATION ON GMOS, AND COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY ON EVIDENCE USED IN DECISIONS INVOLVING OUR FOOD. Consumers should be provided with reliable information. We should be able to count on our government to protect us. 21.) BUILD YOUR OWN GREENHOUSE It doesn’t have to be a big or expensive one. Use whatever materials and space you have available. Get wood scraps from local building supply stores. Look for free recyclables online. Share space and heating costs with a friend or neighbour. Experiment and figure out what works. Start small and see where it takes you. Everyone starts somewhere! 22.) BUILD A WALIPINI If you can’t build a greenhouse above the ground, build one below the ground. Walipinis have earth for walls so they’re less expensive to keep heated and require less materials to build. Simple designs can be found online. Do the research! 23.) CONTRIBUTE TO ACTIONS THAT SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FOOD SECURITY Contributions towards the next local Victoria march coming up on October 12, 2013 can be made via PAYPAL to “March against Monsanto, Victoria BC”, or by messaging the organizer of the Facebook page: “March Against Monsanto Victoria, BC.”
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 07:33:20 +0000
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