<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default"><font face="georgia, serif"><a href="http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/09/06/latvia-and-greece-kick-monsanto-out-opt-to-ban-gm-crops/">NATION OF CHANGE</a></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><h1 style="margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:16.5pt;color:black;font-weight:normal">Latvia and Greece Kick Monsanto Out, Opt to Ban
GM Crops</span></h1><div><b><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">September 6, 2015 |
Authors: <a href="http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/author/amanda-froelich/"><span style="color:black">Amanda Froelich</span></a> | <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/latvia-and-greece-kick-monsanto-out-opt-to-ban-gm-crops/"><span style="color:black">True Activist</span></a> | News Analysis</span></b><br></div><div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(51,51,51)">First </span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/scotland-completely-bans-gmo-crops/"><span style="color:blue">Scotland opted to ban GM crops from its country</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(51,51,51)">, citing fear of GMO crops contaminating its
food supply, then </span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/breaking-germany-follows-scotlands-lead-and-opts-to-ban-gmos/"><span style="color:blue">Germany followed suit</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(51,51,51)">. Now, both Latvia and Greece have
booted </span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/one-of-monsantos-top-rivals-just-turned-down-a-47-billion-buy-out/"><span style="color:blue">Monsanto </span></a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(51,51,51)">from their countries and banned the only GM crop presently
allowed to be grown in EU countries, </span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/watch-neil-young-releases-mini-documentary-exposing-monsanto-and-the-dark-act/"><span style="color:blue">Monsanto’s</span></a> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(51,51,51)">MON810 GM Maize.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">If it wasn’t clear
before, it seems <i>quite </i>evident that the tide is turning. Big
biotech companies are losing influence by the day, and the addition of two more
European countries in favor of banning <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/congress-could-soon-pass-a-ban-on-gmo-labeling-introduced-by-monsanto/"><span style="color:blue">GMOs</span></a> is evidence of that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Under the EU law signed
in March, individual countries can seek <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/this-mycologist-holds-the-patent-that-could-destroy-monsanto/"><span style="color:blue">geographical exclusion</span></a> from any approval
request for GM cultivation across the EU. Every request to ‘opt out’ of GM
cultivation has to be approved by not only the European Commission but also the
company making the application, <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/monsanto-invests-billions-in-new-carcinogenic-herbicide-to-replace-roundup/"><span style="color:blue">Monsanto.</span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">As <a href="http://sustainablepulse.com/2015/08/27/latvia-and-greece-start-green-wave-of-gm-crop-bans-across-europe#.Ver4srTgLzL"><i><span style="color:blue">Sustainable Pulse </span></i><span style="color:blue">shares,</span></a> Greece
and Latvia are the <b>first </b>countries in the EU to have had their
geographic opt-out’s from growing <span style="color:blue"><a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/monsanto-invests-billions-in-new-carcinogenic-herbicide-to-replace-roundup/">GM crops</a> </span>accepted by Monsanto. Germany and France
are only a few of the countries expected to follow suit and ban the cultivation
of<a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/monsanto-invests-billions-in-new-carcinogenic-herbicide-to-replace-roundup/"><span style="color:blue"> GM Maize </span></a>within the month.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Just last week, German
Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/breaking-germany-follows-scotlands-lead-and-opts-to-ban-gmos/"><span style="color:blue">informed German states</span></a> of his intention to
ban the use of GM crops. His announcement came shortly after the<a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/scotland-completely-bans-gmo-crops/"><span style="color:blue"> Scottish government announced it would ban GM crops</span></a> to
protect that country’s clean, green status.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">According to Professor
Carlo Leifert, Professor of Ecological Agriculture at Newcastle University, the
Scottish Government’s decision to ban <span style="color:blue"><a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/new-lawsuit-accuses-chipotle-of-lying-about-not-having-any-gmo-ingredients/">GM crops</a> </span>is right and that “<i>there are likely to
be significant commercial benefits from Scotland being clearly recognised as
a <a href="http://www.trueactivist.com/breaking-germany-follows-scotlands-lead-and-opts-to-ban-gmos/"><span style="color:blue">GM-free region</span></a>”.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Will we see more countries boot Monsanto from their borders in
the near future?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><br></span></p><b style="line-height:normal;color:rgb(153,0,0);font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:10px">=========================================</b><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> <br></span><font face="Tahoma, sans-serif" color="#990000" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10px"><b><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"></div>CHUCK SEARCY</b></span></font><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:normal"><b style="font-size:10px;color:rgb(153,0,0);font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif">Co-Chair, NGO Agent Orange Working Group</b><br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:normal"><b style="font-size:10px;color:rgb(153,0,0);font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif">M +8 490 342 0769</b><br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:normal"><font face="Tahoma, sans-serif" color="#990000"><span style="font-size:10px"><b>E <a href="mailto:chuckusvn@gmail.com" target="_blank">chuckusvn@gmail.com</a></b></span></font></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:normal"><b style="font-size:10px;color:rgb(153,0,0);font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif">Sk chucksearcy</b><br></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="line-height:normal;color:rgb(153,0,0);font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:10px">=========================================</b><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></p>
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