Editor Please Note:
A media conference will be held on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m.
one hour prior to the opening of the photo exhibit at the Chinese
Cultural Centre Museum in the On-Tak Cheung Exhibition Hall,
555 Columbia St. Vancouver, B.C.
Photo Editor:
A selection of the hi res photographs featured at the exhibit is
available online at http://www.greenpeace.ca/riceislifephotos
A new photo exhibit that beautifully portrays and reinforces the
merits of biodiversity and sustainable agricultural practices in
China's Yunnan Province will open Saturday, April 28 at 2 p.m. at
the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum [
555 Columbia St.] in Vancouver.
“The Land Gives Me Rice, Rice Gives Me Life”
photo exhibit will run for one month, April 28 to May 27.
Co-sponsored by Greenpeace Canada and the Chinese Cultural Centre
of Greater Vancouver, the exhibit features 50 first-time
photographs by five rice farmers in Yunnan Province who were asked
by Greenpeace to document a year in the life of their villages in
2005.
"We are very pleased to join Greenpeace in presenting this
wonderful documentation of life in Yunnan Province. The intimacy
and tradition in these photos will be of interest to many of our
visitors, says Paul Yeung, cultural program director, Chinese
Cultural Centre Museum.
Greenpeace provided the farmers with cameras as part of a larger
campaign against the open commercialization of genetically
engineered rice which continues to threaten health, culture,
tradition and sustainable farming practices in China. In Yunnan
Province alone 75,000 known varieties of rice are grown.
"This exhibit focuses on the ecological and agricultural
traditions still practiced by farmers in Yunnan Province. But keep
in mind that these communities are threatened by genetically
engineered rice strains with which western-based multinationals
seek to monopolize the biodiversity of the rice fields," said Josh
Brandon, GE campaigner, Greenpeace Canada.
On opening day, Greenpeace Canada will address the risks of
releasing genetically engineered organisms into the environment and
the food chain, and urge the BC government to legislate mandatory
labeling. A petition is currently available at
www.greenpeace.ca.
A Stratcom poll released in January 2007 shows that 79 per cent
of British Columbians want to know if their food contains GE
ingredients and would prefer their government to act before the
next election.
"Our GE campaign and petition drive is a step towards a
healthier food and agriculture system," said Brandon. "Ultimately
we would like to see sustainable organic agriculture that supports
biodiversity. Such agriculture gives more power to local
communities, and honors the traditional knowledge of farmers around
the world. It builds connections between farmers and urban
consumers and creates sustainable relationships between the global
North and the developing South."
VVPR info: Josh BrandonGE campaigner, Greenpeace Canada604-721-7493