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SEEDmail #38: Cooking the planet, but first patent it

frankrijk-snijbonenAnother informative piece of SEEDmail consisting of announcements of events to come and reports on events that are done! In the coming months ASEED will continue with a campaign on agriculture and climate change. On top of this we will try to stop the patenting of seeds, a topic that will be at stake in Brussels in the coming months.

And by the way, the UN made 2016 the year of the beans, peas and lentils!

Cooking the Planet

Save the Date: April 16th, MKZ, Amsterdam

In celebration of the International Day of Farmers’ Struggle and in conjunction with the Climate Justice Movement, ASEED is organising an info-day on the 16th of April at the MKZ community kitchen in Amsterdam to explore the destructive impact that food production has on our climate.

On the day, discussions will take place concerning the links between food production and global warming, the real solutions, the fake solutions and the different positions that we occupy within the food chain. As well as this, different possibilities for campaigns to change our environment and social system will be looked at.

In this first edition of a series of events, the focus will be on the production and consumption of meat.

To register and for more information, click here. Join us!

 

Other interesting events

cja-logoClimate Justice Action Meeting, March 18th-20th, Dokhuis

From the 18th to the 20th of March, 2016, Climate Justice Action – the European grassroots direct action network formed around the COP21 – will be holding its first meeting located at the Dokhuis in Amsterdam.

The purpose of the meeting is to bring those already involved with CJA together with new groups fighting climate-trashing projects across Europe and North Africa.
Continue reading ..

 

‘Dutch Seed Debate,’ April 5th, The Hague

On April 5th, ‘Small Farmers, Big Deal’ will be organising a day of talks between both small and large Dutch seed companies titled the ‘Dutch Seed Debate’ which will take place in Mauritshuis, the Hague from 13:30-18:00.

The focus of the day will be on whether or not leading Dutch seed companies – big and small – pay special attention to small-scale agriculture and horticulture and whether or not they aim to aid smallholder farmers in improving their productivity as a means of earning a better living.

(But be careful, Schuttelaar & Partners is part of the organisation, This company helped Monsanto with the introduction of GMOs in the Netherlands. Also involved are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CEOs from many large Dutch agri-businesses.)

 

Lausitzcamp and Ende Gelände, May 9th-16th, Proschim, Lusatia, Germany

This year, the 6th Climate and Energy Camp and the Ende Gelände action will take place in Proschim in the Lusatia Lignite Mining Region close to Berlin.

Vattenfall, owner of the coal field in Lusatia is trying to sell its German lignite coal branch. This is a unique chance to finally close down opencast pits and coal power stations and to show that it is possible to phase-out coal in a socially and ecologically responsible manner.

The Lausitzcamp provides a stage to connect the local resistance against new mining pits and power stations with the global struggle for climate justice. The camp will be a place for exchanging experiences, networking and sharing skills on the topics of coal and energy in a creative way as a means of making effective plans concerning acts of resistance for the future.

In conjunction with the Lausitzcamp, the Ende Gelände direct action camp will take place from the 13th-16th of May. The action itself will consist of hundreds of people shutting down the coal mining in Lusastia in a mass action of civil disobedience. Anyone, whether experienced in activism or not, can take part in the action – together, the diggers will be stopped.

 

Reports

Successful Reclaim the Seeds in Wageningen and Lier

On the 13th of February, the Forum Building of the University of Wageningen accommodated the annual seed fair of Reclaim the Seeds, organised by the student’s organisation Boerengroep and by environmental organisation ASEED. Apart from people who came especially for the seed fair, visitors of the Voedsel Anders Conference passed by the fair as well. The stalls, where one could swap or give away home harvested and selected seeds, have been used frequently and eagerly.

The event was against a strong joint statement against patents on crop plants and against the power position of the major international agrochemical companies. As part of this Marie-Monique Robin and Olivier de Schutter presented the that day the plans for the Monsanto Tribunal. Continue reading the report of the day

On the website of Reclaim the Seeds, you can find reports of almost all presentations and workshops from Reclaim the Seeds in Wageningen.

The First Reclaim the Seeds in Belgium
The seeds working group from Velt was a few times part of Reclaim the Seeds in the Netherlands. This time they decided to organise a Reclaim the Seeds event in Belgium as well. On the 27th of February a school building in Lier was filled with seeds, beans, seedlings, books and a series of interesting workshops. Besides some stall holders known from other Reclaim the Seeds events there we some new gardeners and seed savers from Flanders. It was a nice and well organised day! A lot of thanks for the many volunteers.
At the moment people in Flanders are already thinking about a location for 2017.

A video report of the day: https://youtu.be/3fJlcngQzSc
A picture gallery: https://goo.gl/photos/8KyiRLWjqSnYymTV6


Reclaim the Seeds Internationally

ASEED has been involved in the organisation of each Reclaim the Seeds event, always alongside local people and organisations. This year we had people from 10 different countries helping out with the preparations and during the day itself. This diversity was cause to write and publish a nonextensive overview of seed activities in several countries.

 

Action against ‘philanthropic’ corporate funding from Bill and Melinda Gates

ASEED and friends gathered outside the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam on the 26th of January, 2016, to inform those attending a debate with Bill Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) of some of the projects funded by the BMGF.
continue reading..

 

Climate Smart Fertiliser Addiction: Business as usual

What do you know about “Climate-Smart Agriculture”? What is really good for the planet and the climate, vs. what is promoted by fertilizer companies to continue their business as usual? Here is a nice piece of research about the topic written by B S Welch, a former ASEED member.