Famous farmer Percy Schmeiser visits

July 02, 2008

On Monday, July 7 Percy Schmeiser — advocate of accurate food labeling and champion against genetically engineered foods — returns to Salt Spring Island for a talk at Meaden Hall.

Schmeiser is on tour with Colin Palmer, the chair of the Powell River Regional District (the first genetically engineered-free zone in Canada), Tom Rudge, an organic farmer and leader of the campaign for a moratorium on genetic engineering in the Yukon, and Josh Brandon, who is a Greenpeace agriculture campaigner.

“Percy Schmeiser and his wife Louise grew organic canola on their farm near Bruno, Saskatchewan until Monsanto, the holder of a patent on genetically altered canola, tried to collect a fee from the Schmeisers for the genetically altered grain that had blown into their fields, thus contaminating them,” explains press material.

“The legal proceedings that followed went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada and eventually the Schmeisers were vindicated.”

Schmeiser has since become zealous in the cause of healthy food and has recently returned from an educational tour of Europe, both in the east and the west. At the Meaden Hall talk, he is expected to discuss a campaign organized by Greenpeace and GE (genetically engineered) Free B.C., that aims to extend GE-free zones across Vancouver Island by 2010.

“Linked to the question of GE-free zones are other considerations: the need for accurate food labelling; current food shortages; the growing concentration of agricultural power in the hands of a few companies; the introduction of terminator seed technology; the likelihood that other nations will close their doors to GE foods. The evening’s discussion may touch on all of these.”

At the talk, Salt Spring “bards” Bill Henderson and Phil Vernon will provide music.

The event, which begins at 7 p.m., is hosted by Salt Springers for Safe Food. Admission is by donation.

For further information, contact Marian Hargrove, 250-537-0864 or Roger Middleton at 250-537-5628.

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Famous farmer Percy Schmeiser visits

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