Marchers plant seeds of protest

© Vitaliy Vodolazskyy – 123RF.com

The protest is to raise awareness of the products developed by Monsanto, a US multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation which is a leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed and of the herbicide glyphosate, which it markets under the Roundup brand.

According to Johnson, there is a global march on Saturday which is aimed at informing the public, calling into question the potential long-term health risks of genetically modified foods.

She said most South African were not informed about what they ingest and the peaceful march would be making them aware of what these foods contain.

"We would like to create awareness in this beautiful earth about consuming genetically modified foods and using chemicals from Monsanto, who are agents of herbicides under the banner, Roundup," Johnson said.

She said 90% of South Africa's corn had been genetically modified and that Monsanto controlled 50% of SA's maize seed market and 90% of the global genetically modified organisms.

Glyphosate is banned in Columbia, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and, according to studies from the World Health Organisation (Who), the herbicide may cause cancer, Alzheimer's, and birth defects if consumed during pregnancy.

The march will consist of a walk from Kings Beach promenade to BayWorld, organic seed swapping and talks by various activists. Some well-known PE names in the line-up include philosopher David Pittaway, Emma Hay, and Nicole and Ryan Allan from Organic Footprints.

Rushka's eldest daughter Breeze Johnson, 16, will give a talk on the seed freedom movement.

Rushka's 11-year-old daughter Ruth is also an environmental activist, and will voice her opinion on the agrochemical giant and do a presentation on why she is antigenetically modified organisms.

She said products which contained the herbicide Roundup could be found at major hardware outlets and genetically modified foods containing corn and soya could also be found at all major retailers.

This is the third year that global protest action is taking place against Monsanto.

The march starts at 10am.