About 70 people, one as young as 3 years old, blanketed the 15th Street and Main Avenue/U.S. Highway 550 intersection in Durango on Saturday waving anti-Monsanto placards at motorists.
The protest was part of an international effort to call attention to growing opposition to Monsanto’s genetically modified organisms (GMO) that through gene splicing produce plants, animals and bacteria not found naturally.
Opponents say the technology isn’t entirely safe and can cause adverse health effects in people and animals.
Similar protests occurred Saturday in about 40 countries and 250 cities in almost all states in the United States.
“I’m very concerned because very quickly we’re finding it’s getting harder to find food without GMOs,” said Grace Tazewell, who came from Pagosa Springs with about 10 other people. “Many European countries have banned GMO in foods. Why hasn’t America?”
Alan Rolston, a retired water-treatment-plant operator, said he began to turn against chemicals in agriculture years ago when he owned a feed and seed business in Montana.
Rolston now is building an organic garden at his home in Mancos.
Riley Culligan, 3, accompanied by grandmother Kathy Steventon, held a sign that read: “I’m 3. Don’t kill me.”
“I oppose GMOs because I’m a big organic gardener,” Steventon said. “I’m trying to be sustainable.”
The anti-GMO movement hasn’t been able to require labeling of food that has been genetically altered, let alone ban GMO crops as many European countries have done.
The latest setback occurred Thursday when the Senate voted 71-27 against allowing states to decide whether to require labeling on GMO products.
Many foods are genetically modified, among them soy, sugar beets, corn, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, cotton and dairy products.
An Associated Press story about anti-GMO rallies Saturday quoted a Monsanto statement to the effect that it respects the rights of opponents to differ but that it believes its seeds help farmers produce more food while conserving water and energy.
The federal government says the technology is safe.
daler@durangoherald.com
