Farmers v. Monsanto

GMO corn in Germany.

This message, from Gianni Ortiz, contains information about an upcoming gathering to show support for the 82 farmers who are taking agro-tech giant Monsanto to court in The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), et. al. v. Monsanto. Gianni is organizing a delegation from Upstate NY to make an appearance at the event. For more information about the case, click here.

Sorry for any duplication and please share with lists and friends generously.

Hello Everyone,

The Bus will be leaving promptly at 6am Tuesday January 31st from the old Wal-Mart parking lot in Hudson. The exact address is 351 Fairview Avenue, Hudson, NY 12534. Please be there no later than 5:45 am. Those who have already confirmed are guaranteed a seat, everyone else will be first come, first sat – maximum capacity is 55 passengers. Bring anything you will need to be comfortable for the day. We will reserve space for signs, etc… The weather should be quite gorgeous with temperatures in the low 50’s. Also we are asking that those in our group wear a purple armband so that we can keep track of and support each other during the action. You can find guidelines for signage and more at www.osgata.org.

We will be gathering with occupywallstreet. They are planning on having a large demonstration with a timeline of different egregious actions committed by Monsanto over the years, a teach-in, and possibly a large banner. A big thank you the organizers of Occupy Big Food and Occupy Wall Street Food Justice for their hard work on this. I believe we will be leaving Foley Square at mid-afternoon but cannot guarantee that, so please make your plans accordingly. Departure time from NYC will be announced the morning of. We have the use of the bus up until leaving NYC at 6pm.


I would like to emphasize why this show of support is so important. Monsanto has moved to have the entire case dismissed because there is ‘no real harm posed to the plaintiff group’ and therefore this is not a judicial matter but rather a frivolous suit. Judge Buchwald has, surprisingly and generously, offered to hear further oral arguments on the case, when normally she would make her decision based on written testimony and documents already submitted. The show of support outside the court room will have significant bearing on her decision. In this case - bigger is definitely better. This sort of thing is never convenient but your democratic participation is so terrifically important. Signing a petition is one thing, showing up is an entirely other. Thanks to NDAA, this public showing may be much more difficult in the future. The time to make your voice heard is now. Thanks in advance.

The bus is free but we are accepting donations to offset other costs of pulling this together. We have an anonymous angel to thank for the bus and Sally Baker and PB Inc. for making that offer a reality.

I have a number of documents that would be of interest to all of you but am not attaching them because I know some of you still have dial up. Please respond to this email if you would like them.

Our destination is Foley Square in NYC, between Lafayette and Center Streets.
Citizen’s Assembly:
When: Tuesday, January 31, 2011 @ 9:00 am
Where: Foley Square across from Southern District Court, New York City
Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse
500 Pearl St.
New York, NY 10007-1312

Thanks very much,

In Solidarity,

Gianni

Also, for those of you who have asked, I do not have a cell phone, but the morning of I will have contact numbers available for you.