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VIDEO INTERVIEWS
PRINCE CHARLES – Speech at Terra Madre conference
The Prince of Wales has been at the forefront of promoting organic agriculture in his Duchy of Cornwall (57,091 hectares) and around the world. In 1997 he began to convert the Duchy's Home Farm at Highgrove, Gloucestershire, to organic farming. Home Farm now plays a key role within the Duchy - both as a successful and viable working farm, and as a flagship enterprise, visited by thousands of people from around the world. This is the transcript of Global Vision video recording of a speech given by Prince Charles to 5,000 small farmers and artisanal food producers from 150 countries at the Terra Madre conference hosted by Slow Food in Turin, Italy in October 2004, in paralel with the Salone del Gusto - the world's premier quality food fair where Ireland's leading artisanal food producers showcased their wild smoked salmon, traditional cheeses, and other produce. Transcript.
PERCY SCHMEISER – Canadian farmer who got sued by Monsanto
Percy Schmeiser is a 74-year old Canadian farmer who got sued by Monsanto after his fields became contaminated by their patented GMOs in 1996. Monsanto wanted the profits from his entire crop, a technology charge, plus a million dollars in court costs. Eventually, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Monsanto's financial claims but ruled the patented GM crops are the company's property. This ruling opened the door for massive class action lawsuits currently underway against Monsanto for losing control of its patented crops. Percy Schmeiser was interviewed at the Terra Madre Festival hosted by Slow Food in Turin, Italy, in October 2004. Interview transcript.
JOHN HENEY – Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association
John Heney is Chairman of Rural Development at the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA), which became the first conventional farming group in Ireland to forge a GM-free Ireland policy.
John Heney was interviewed at the National Future of Food Forum hosted by GM-free Ireland Network member Euro-Toques Ireland at the Brook Lodge hotel in Maccreddin Village, Co. Wicklow on 4 July 2004.
Interview transcript.
BENEDIKT HAERLIN – Foundation on Future Farming
Benedikt Haerlin is the Director of the Foundation on Future Farming (http://sos.k42.org/conference/Foundation.html) which supports pioneering, ecologically and socially sustainable agricultural projects. He is also the Director of Save Our Seeds (www.saveourseeds.org) which works to keep conventional and organic seeds free of genetically modified organisms. He organised the European Conference on GMO-free Regions, Biodiversity and Rural Development in January 2005. He is the former Director of the Greenpeace global GMO campaign. This interview was recorded at the European Conference on GMO-free Regions, Biodiversity and Rural Development in January 2005. Interview transcript.
AGNES CICCARONE – Assembly of European Regions (AER)
Agnes Ciccarone, from France, is the Director of the Assembly of European Regions (www.are-regions-europe.org) Committee for Regional Policies, Agriculture and Sustainable Rural Development. The AER currently has 250 member Regions from 30 countries and 12 member interregional organisations. In September 2004 at the European Parliament, AER and Friends of the Earth Europe launched a joint campaign in favour of the preservation and the promotion of traditional agriculture and products of designated origin in Europe, by lobbying for a European legal framework for coexistence between traditional and transgenic crops, as well as the legal recognition of GMO-free zones and regions in Europe. This interview was recorded at the European Conference on GMO-free Regions, Biodiversity and Rural Development in January 2005. Interview transcript.
MARIA GRACIA MAMMUCINI – Regional Government of Tuscany
Maria Gracia Mammucini is the Director of the Regional Government of Tuscany's Agency for Agriculture. Tuscany became a founding member of the European network of GMO-free regions after banning the cultivation of GM crops in 2000.
The current law prohibits the cultivation of GM crops and as well as the procurement by state agencies of food containing GMO ingredients.
This interview was recorded at the European Conference on GMO-free Regions, Biodiversity and Rural Development in January 2005. Interview transcript.
BERNWARD GEIER – International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
Bernward Geier is Director for International Relations at the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (www.ifoam.org), which coordinates the global organic movement with some 750 affiliated organisations and institutions in around 100 countries. Its Acccreditation Programme works to harmonise international organic standards in partnership with 27 of the world's major organic certification bodies.
Headquartered in Germany, IFOAM hosts the annual Organic World Congress and publishes the magazine Ecology and Farming. Interview transcript.
HELENA NORBERG HODGE – Intl. Society for Ecology and Culture
Helena Norberg-Hodge founded the International Society for Ecology and Culture (www.isec.org.uk), which protects biological and cultural diversity by moving beyond single issues to look at the deeper influences that shape our lives.
She also co-founded the International Forum on Globalisation (www.ifg.org), an alliance of 60 leading activists, scholars, economists, researchers and writers formed to stimulate new thinking, joint activity and public education in response to economic globalisation. Her latest book is Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness (Zed Books, UK, 2002). Interview transcript.
JACK WAFULA – SMART Initiative, Kenya
Jack Wafula is an organic farmer, agricultural trainer, and Programme Coordinator of the SMART Initiative (Sustainable Mobilisation of Agricultural Resource Technologies) in Kitale, Kenya.
One of the main myths promoted by biotech spin doctors is that GM farming has the potential to end the world hunger problem. This is pure nonsense, as GM crops often fail and there is already a global food surplus. In this short interview, Jack Wafula shares his view that GM is not the answer for developing countries, who can quite easily feed themselves with traditional organic methods. Interview transcript.
