THE ONE-MINUTE ACTIVIST

September 2009

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Senator John Kerry
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

Dear Senator,

I urge you to oppose any food aid or agricultural development aid legislation that relies on genetic engineering or biotechnologies. Governments in Africa are facing enormous pressure by world financial institutions, agribusiness, and even some international aid organizations to replace traditional small scale farming with factory–style food production.
Factory farms would emphasize growing more of fewer types of crops, such as corn, cotton, and sorghum, for export around the world.
U.S.–based global agrochemical and grain trading corporations are pushing for greater use of specialty seeds, including genetically engineered varieties, and chemical pesticides and fertilizers to aid the growth of those monoculture export crops.
Farmers and governments in the developing world have the right to make their own choices about genetically engineered crops.
Food aid and development assistance should never be pre-conditioned on accepting unwanted and ineffective genetically engineered crops.

Please oppose legislation to force genetically engineered crops on the developing world.

I thank you for your time and eagerly await your response.

Thanks to Food and Water Watch