Monsanto isn’t feeding the world, it’s damaging food security – Monsanto Tribunal judges
Published: 21 April 2017 Monsanto promotes its genetically modified (GM) crops and associated pesticides on the claimed grounds that they are needed to help “feed the world”.
But the five judges of the Monsanto Tribunal
found that far from contributing to food security, Monsanto’s activities have “negatively affected food availability for individuals and communities”.
The judges of the Tribunal, held last October in The Hague, listened to the testimony of 28 witnesses from around the world whose health and livelihoods had suffered as a result of Monsanto’s products and activities.
The judges are all
renowned for their expertise in human rights and international law issues. They were led by the Belgian Françoise Tulkens, former vice-president of the European Court of Human Rights.
On 18 April the Monsanto Tribunal judges
announced their damning verdict, based on a number of considerations.
First, the judges found that Monsanto had interfered with the ability of individuals and communities to feed themselves directly from productive land.
The judges said, “Monsanto’s activities have caused and are causing damages to the soil, water and generally to the environment, thereby reducing the productive possibilities for the production of adequate food.
Monsanto isn