Politics

GMOs spawn hunger strike in France

Jan

5

In Paris, a farmer who is known for his fight against junk food is now on a hunger strike along with 15 other activists. They are protesting in hopes that the French government will take a stronger stance against genetically modified seeds. France has currently suspended the use of modified maize but this ban ends February 9, 2008. Radical farmer, Jose Bove (who was previously arrested for damaging a McDonald's and destroying a GMO field) along with the majority of French people believe that GMO seeds could lead to the spread of modified genes that could harm the environment and humans.

“What I hope is that the political will (of the people) will be respected,” Bove said in an interview.
Read more about Jose Bove, a sheep farmer/cheese monger and his many actions of anti-globalization.


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  • Posted by mugs
  • 6 months ago

I came across the irresistible character of Jose Bove this morning while flipping through my new favorite book, "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz. Katz cites Bove's rise to fame after bulldozing a MacDonald's in 1999 and quotes Bove thus: "McDonald's is merely a symbol of economic imperialism. It represents anonymous globalization, with little relevance to real food...Waves of opposition to this commodification can be felt in all corners of the world." Bove's action against McDonald's was specifically sparked by the trade sanctions imposed by the United States on Europe for its ban on the import of hormone-treated beef. "We reject the global trade model dictated by the multinationals, " says Bove. "Let's go back to agriculture....People have the right to be able to feed themselves." I couldn't agree more.