Solidarity protest in UK

Read the letter to Polish Embassy – [here]

A symbolic 'solidarity’ action in support of demonstrating Polish farmers took place today. Sir Julian and other local farmers drove tractors from his farm (Path Hill Farm, UK), carrying Polish flags and placards proclaiming 'Solidarity with the Polish farmers’. Poles living temporarily in England and activists from the UK held banners stating Local farmers demand local markets, ”Save our seeds”, 'Stop GMO’ and handed out leaflets.

The action was organized by Sir Julian, owner of the Hardwick Estate and President of The International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC), to express solidarity with Polish farmers who are blockading towns across Poland in order to stop the government selling off prime farmland to multinational corporations to grow GM food on. Jadwiga Lopata, founder of the ICPPC and Goldman Prize Laureate, is co-organised the event.

The Polish farmers main demands:

• Stop Genetically Modified seeds from being planted in Poland (which is being permitted under a recent parliamentary act).
• Stop the sell off of prime farmland to multinational corporations.
• Free up food regulations which are preventing the local sale of farm produce.

’Land grabs’ are becoming more common around the world as multinational corporations look to establish themselves on foreign soils and exploit the resource base in order to increase their export opportunities.

Genetically modified food is firmly rejected by 75% of Polish citizens and approximately 55% of UK citizens. The Polish government has recently passed a new Act which claims to ban planting of GM seeds, but in reality is allowing them in at the back door because it failed to ban 'trading’ of such seeds. PHOTOS: http://icppc.pl/

Case studies in Poland and the UK are available on request. Contact: Julian Rose julian@icppc.pl and Jadwiga Lopata jadwiga@icppc.pl