Don't GMO with Greenpeace Italy

Saving whales; closing BP service stations: Greenpeace accomplishes things many of us fainter environmentalists only dream of, and last week was no different. A courageous bunch snuck into a field of GMO corn to deactivate the crop's pollinating tassels -- by way of machete or delicate plucking, we cannot say, but we'd like to think they had some fun.

The event took place in -- where else? -- Italy, the heirloom-touting country responsible for constructing Slow Food's global umbrella in the '80s, from which all sustainable, green, local and such movements have sprung since. Specifically, the crop-beheading went down on a field in the northern region of Friuli, one of the country's 16 regions (out of 20) that were gradually designated as GMO-free zones starting in 2007.

Greenpeace Italia first took a sample from the field in question and brought it to a certified lab to confirm that it was, in fact, the patented Monsanto GE maize type MON810. Since pollen can quickly spread to other fields, further contaminating non-GMO land, Greenpeace decided to nip it in the bud and send a message to the Italian government to follow through. GMO-free zone or not, a landowner would still need to obtain a permit to grow GMO crop in Italy, which Greenpeace claims the owner had not done.
As environmental organizations declared in 2007, GMO crops can unintentionally cross-pollinate with heritage crop varieties, making for unsustainable farming practices -- even if a farmer wants to save his Monsanto-purchased seeds for next year, he can't; they're under patent and have to be purchased again. There's also need for ever-stronger (ever-damaging) pesticides within these seeds, or in the accompanying chemical sprays to which the seeds are resilient, in order to combat ever-adaptive weeds.

Farmers who choose not to plant GMO crop are, therefore, at risk of cross-pollination and subsequent crop-devastation, simply by way of the wind. Which means grandma's dishes would one day be unattainable -- not okay by Italy. For a visual on Monsanto's prevalence, we offer Greenpeace Switzerland's slick video breakdown (quickest summation we've ever seen -- and yes, there's even a futuristic British voice-over to hold your attention).