Monsanto won the Angry Mermaid Award for worst corporate lobby in Copenhagen, for pushing its RoundupReady GM crops as fake climate solution. Read more here. Corporate Europe Observatory published a new article about the successes and failures of the corporate lobbyists in Copenhagen.
Support us
Want to save the world but too tired or busy to do it directly? Do you want to help finance campaigns against corporate criminals and their lobby groups? Then donate some money to A SEED Europe!
There is always a lot of work that we can't do because of a shortage of people and time. So if you want to help us, please get in contact. read more
Browser choice
It is best to visit this website with Firefox or another open source browser. The use of Micro$oft Internet Explorer is for your own risk and when you do, it is possible that the site will not look the way it is meant to do.
GM Crop expansion limited in 2009 – reduction in EU
February 23, 2010 - The latest data on GM crops around the world, from the industry-funded group ISAAA, reveals that seven out of 25 countries had reduced GM cultivation areas in 2009 and another remained static. Furthermore, no new countries grew GM crops during this period and GM Cultivation in Europe dropped more than 10%. On the day of the release of annual industry-sponsored figures, a new report from Friends of the Earth International ‘Who Benefits from GM Crops’ reveals that claims made by the biotech industry that genetically modified (GM) crops can combat climate change are both exaggerated and premature.
Farmers and activists protest against new EU-regulation for seeds. A call for action and alternatives.
Against the background of an upcoming regulation on EU level, which is likely to expand corporate control over seeds, the “first link” in the food chain, initiatives and organisations that save and exchange seeds prepare for a European-wide campaign “Sowing the future – Harvesting diversity”. The 5th seminar of European Seed Initiatives from 25th till 27th March 2010 in Graz, Austria will be a central place of discussion and of planning activities to defend farmers’ rights over seeds and agricultural biodiversity.
Bad labour conditions, unsustainable production processes, overconsumption and the conflict between need and greed are world wide seen as serious problems. One of the aspects of the degrowth movement is that it tries to work on alternative economic models and ways to organise society to solve some of those problems. Downscaling of production and consumption are presented as one of the solutions. This principle also applies to production and consumption of food and other agricultural products.
In the past months A SEED has been active within the climate action movement. We saw this as a side step of our agriculture and soy campaign. Agriculture, and particularly meat production and live stock farming has huge impact on climate change. On the other side are small farmers in many Southern countries among the first groups that are negatively affected by the effects of climate change. In the months before and during the UN Climate Summit (COP15) in Copenhagen there has been a lot of attention for the issue. It was A SEEDs goals to get make agriculture part of the radical climate discourse. We have done this by publishing texts, organising actions and by being actively involved in the international mobilisation for the summit.
Farmers’ organisations from around the world, breeders, UN institutions as well as development and environmental organisations have repeatedly raised major concerns about the increasing monopolisation of seeds and farm animals via patents over the last few years. The loss of independence and rising indebtedness for farmers, a reduction of plant and animal diversity, and ever higher constraints for breeding and research activities represent some of the most worrying impacts of this trend. But despite these alarming experiences so far no legal measures are in sight to stop this trend.
Chaos inside the Summit, random arrests & raids outside
- CJA petition: Stop Danish Police Abuses Against Peaceful Climate Protesters - Press release Climate Justice Action, 15th December 2009 - The Danish police have escalated their attempts to criminalise and harass activists from the group Climate Justice Action in tactics described as “desperate and self-interested.”
As part of the many protests against the current climate summit, Via Campesina organised on December 13 an action in front of the building of organisations of the large scale Danish farmers, including the pork and poultry farmers. On the square a theatre play took place with pigs in a cage. Big business gave them soy, antibiotics and messed around with GMOs. The pigs were freed by the small farmers that don't want those big corporation, but food sovereignty. System change, not climate change!
Farmers and activists protest against new EU-regulation for seeds. A call for action and alternatives.
In the past months A SEED has been active within the climate action movement. We saw this as a side step of our agriculture and soy campaign. Agriculture, and particularly meat production and live stock farming has huge impact on climate change. On the other side are small farmers in many Southern countries among the first groups that are negatively affected by the effects of climate change. In the months before and during the UN Climate Summit (COP15) in Copenhagen there has been a lot of attention for the issue. It was A SEEDs goals to get make agriculture part of the radical climate discourse. We have done this by publishing texts, organising actions and by being actively involved in the international mobilisation for the summit. 
Farmers’ organisations from around the world, breeders, UN institutions as well as development and environmental organisations have repeatedly raised major concerns about the increasing monopolisation of seeds and farm animals via patents over the last few years. The loss of independence and rising indebtedness for farmers, a reduction of plant and animal diversity, and ever higher constraints for breeding and research activities represent some of the most worrying impacts of this trend. But despite these alarming experiences so far no legal measures are in sight to stop this trend. 
As part of the many protests against the current climate summit, Via Campesina organised on December 13 an action in front of the building of organisations of the large scale Danish farmers, including the pork and poultry farmers. On the square a theatre play took place with pigs in a cage. Big business gave them soy, antibiotics and messed around with GMOs. The pigs were freed by the small farmers that don't want those big corporation, but food sovereignty. System change, not climate change!