One of the most prominent giants, Monsanto sells products that undermine the necessary transition to\u00a0ecological farming<\/a>\u00a0and instead pushes for the use of toxic agrochemical and genetically engineered (GE) seeds that reinforce big corporate control over farmers and the food system. Furthermore, Monsanto is currently undergoing a merger with another titan, Bayer, thus increasing their grip over our food system.<\/p>\n Behind this deal and others made by agribusiness, there are soils drained of nutrients, poisoned waterways, unsustainable production practices \u2013 and it\u2019s all going into our bodies. In 2016, a Greenpeace Japan\u00a0social experiment<\/a>\u00a0showed that switching people\u2019s diet from conventional to organic food significantly reduced the pesticide levels in their urine.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why farmers, scientists and activists from all over the world gathered at\u00a0the Monsanto Tribunal<\/a>\u00a0in the Hague, Netherlands, last year to present the case \u2013 albeit a people\u2019s one \u2013 against destruction caused by one of the corporate giants that promotes industrial farming.<\/p>\n In\u00a0October 2016<\/a>, communities around the world who have suffered from the corporation\u2019s approach to agriculture aimed to hold Monsanto to account for its alleged atrocities against humanity and the environment. Six detailed questions were submitted to the Tribunal and they constitute its terms of reference: the right to a healthy environment, the right to food, the right to health, freedom of scientific research, complicity in war crimes, and ecocide.<\/p>\n Then, earlier this month, the communities reconvened and the recommendation was made, in which its impact is a small step towards reclaiming food and farming from corporate control.<\/p>\n In an opinion handed down by real, internationally eminent and independent judges presiding the case, they stated that:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026The impacts of Monsanto\u2019s conduct on biodiversity have also negatively affected the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. These impacts are all the more grave, given the close dependency of indigenous peoples and local communities on the environment. The lack of adequate information on risks posed by herbicides and GMOs and the lack of adequate mitigation measures, the lack of credible environmental impact assessments, and the lack of meaningful consultations; they all further underscore Monsanto\u2019s interference with human rights\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s dominant agro-industrial model is highly problematic, not only because it is dependent on dangerous chemicals, but also due to its negative effects on climate change, its impact on the loss of biodiversity, and its inability to ensure food sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the Tribunal is an initiative without a legal basis the opinions came from real and independent judges. While we are waiting to see how the legal opinion will shape the food battle worldwide, the people\u2019s movement is growing to protect citizens and the environment from toxic pesticides.<\/p>\n In Europe, more than 600,000 citizens have already supported a\u00a0European Citizens Initiative<\/a>\u00a0to ban Glyphosate, the most used weed-killer globally and the main ingredient of Monsanto\u2019s Roundup, classified by the WHO as potentially carcinogenic.<\/p>\n Over in Thailand, civil society organisations have successfully pressured their government to ban two major toxic chemicals \u2013 paraquat and chlorpyrifos, a herbicide and an insecticide accordingly.<\/p>\n And in the US, over 300 food and farm groups\u00a0signed an open letter<\/a>\u00a0to ask the Department of Justice to oppose the\u00a0mega mergers<\/a>\u00a0happening in agriculture. Similarly, more than 200 organisations have signed\u00a0open letter<\/a>\u00a0to the European Commission on agri-business mergers.<\/p>\n Whilst the growth of local, slow or organic food movements are growing around the world, it\u2019s continual pressure on governments, the further spreading of information, and people power that\u2019s going to give the food system we want and are truly going to expose gaps and systemic failure in corporate accountability.<\/p>\n![\"Netherlands,](\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/seasia\/Global\/seasia\/Monsanto%20tribunal.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOur food, our future<\/h4>\n