Recently, Barefoot Theatre Group's Artistic Director, Michael Shank, was visiting with Upland Institute of Development on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Located in Baguio City, UID is a Non Governmental Organization operated by the Lumad (indigenous peoples) and focuses on the ancestral domain rights of the Lumad. One of the biggest issues facing the Lumad is bio-piracy. Foreign companies enter the Philippines, 'steal' the vegetables that have been sustaining these upland tribes for centuries and then force them, after putting a patent on a centuries-old vegetable, to buy the rights enabling them to use the vegetable.
Other issues face the Lumad. Foreign mining companies raping tribal land for gold and leaving cyanide in the rivers and streams AND banana plantations (Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita) committing cultural genocide in Lumad communities that are defenseless to foreign conglomerates BUT we will focus on the BIO aspect for now as a company named MONSANTO needs some of our attention. MONSANTO is victimizing another third world country, India, with their unscrupulous use of pesticides, chemicals and herbicides.
Monsanto is the world's leading producer of genetically modified foods, is solely devoted to agriculture, is backed by the U.S.D.A. and pledges itself to five elements: dialogue, transparency, respect, sharing and delivering benefits. Monsanto is the creator of Agent Orange, the chemical weapon used in Vietnam to defoliate the entire rainforest ecosystems, Roundup, the herbicide that kills the common weed, and NutraSweet. They've been accused of endangering the Monarch butterfly, causing cancer with their heavily toxic foods, AND wreaking environmental chaos in the now-polluted fields of India. Desire sterility, infertility and cancer? Buy Monsanto! See for yourself below . . . |
