345,000 strong against the World Food Prize
On October 17th, the Center for Food Safety, Pesticide Action Network North America, SumOfUs.org, and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, delivered petitions signed by over 345,000 people admonishing the World Food Prize—a prize dedicated to furthering a “nutritious and sustainable food supply”—for awarding this year’s Prize to top executives from agrichemical giants Monsanto and Syngenta.
The signatures were delivered to the World Food Prize headquarters by George Naylor, CFS Board Member, member of Iowa CCI, and Iowa corn and soybean farmer; and members of Pesticide Action Network and CCI. A group of farmers from Iowa and Haiti accompanied the representatives to deliver the petitions. The petition delivery kicked off a four hour vigil in front of the World Food Prize Foundation headquarters. The prize, awarded in Iowa today, is part of the annual World Food Day celebrations.
“With this award, the World Food Prize is perpetuating the false notion that genetically engineered crops are a solution to world hunger and malnutrition. This kind of biotech propaganda obscures the huge potential of low-cost agricultural techniques that actually increase food production and alleviate hunger. Awarding the World Food Prize to these biotech giants only serves to divert attention from these truly ‘nutritious and sustainable’ approaches,” - Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director, Center for Food Safety
The World Food Prize is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of agriculture,” where individuals around the globe ostensibly doing the important work of increasing food safety and security are recognized. In its own words, the Prize “emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people.”
"Giving the World Food Prize to Monsanto legitimizes the sort of rampant genetic modification Monsanto pioneered, and helps validate a ruthless business model that impoverishes farmers and monopolizes our food, SumOfUs.org Campaign Manager Oliver Moldenhauer. "If that wasn't baffling enough, the founder of Syngenta will also be awarded the Prize, the same biotech giant joining Bayer in suing Europe to keep selling bee-killing pesticides.
"Contrary to the biotech industry myth the World Food Prize is perpetuating, GE crops do not create more food, more access to food, or more nutritious food, and instead actually endanger food security. As far back as 1998, African scientists representing many of the nations affected by poverty and hunger warned that GE crops would undermine the nations’ capacities to feed themselves by destroying established diversity, local knowledge and sustainable agricultural systems, despite a manipulative Monsanto ad campaign featuring photos of African children and the subtitle “Let the harvest begin.”
"The World Food Prize could and should be an inspiring beacon drawing attention to the injustice of global hunger in an age of plenty, and celebrating those who fight for real solutions. Instead, the World Food Prize has chosen to honor chemical company representatives for a technology that has consistently failed to deliver on promises of increased yields and improved nutrition." -Margaret Reeves, Pesticide Action Network
According to a joint project between the United Nations and the World Bank, the high cost of GE seeds and chemicals along with uncertain crop yields make GE crops a poor choice for farmers, particularly in the developing world.The vigil and delivery of the 347,000 petition signatures came just hours before the official World Food Prize awards ceremony.
"GMOs and factory farms are destroying the state of Iowa, independent family farmers, and the planet, and we need to bust up big ag and empower women, immigrant, and young farmers if we really want to solve world hunger." -Larry Ginter, farmer and CCI member