arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

BIOGUERILLA-GENT, BELGIUM

Saturday 31 of March, a group of 50 Belgian activists of the JNM (Youth Association for Nature Study and Environment Protection) did a bioguerrilla action in the garden of the VIB (the Flemish Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology) in Gent. They created an organic vegetable garden in the form of the well known organic certification label, on a small plot in front of the VIB. There was
also an organic picnic. The VIB reacted coldly on the symbolic action.

The JNM wanted to make a protest against the Flemish
government's plans to turn Gent into a Biotech-Valley. The VIB is supposed to promote biotechnology research in Flanders. In Gent, the VIB has its so-called 'bio-incubator', that serves to give starting
biotech businesses a helping hand. Gent is already surrounded by GMO field trials and is home to companies like Cropdesign, Aventis CropScience, Syngenta and Devgen.

As GMOs are part of the industrial, large scale type of agriculture, and in themselves involve a lot of ecological risks, the JNM stated that the government should give no support to this technology.
Instead, money should be invested in sustainable agricultural methods. The VIB gets a yearly budget of 1 billion Belgian francs, whereas organic agriculture only gets 40 million. Dirk Holemans, member of the Flemish parliament, also took part in the action.

For more information on JNM's activities contact:
Mathias Bienstman, JNM: 0032 - 497 185 240
JNMs position on GMOs: http://www.jnm.be

VRIJEZONE

Saturday March 31, a GE Free Zone ActionFestation was organised by the Vrije Zone (Free Zone), a coalition of (action) groups and collectives from Amsterdam, in co-operation with the Dutch Genetech Platform, XminY Solidarity Fund and ASEED. Earlier of such ActionFestations were organised around themes like militarisation and 'illegalised' people. This time the theme was GE
and Food Safety. The day was organised in the squatted Film
Academy, where two studios were all dressed up with haystacks and old farmers' tools. Visitors entering the spaces first had to undergo a process of dusting and vacuumcleaning to get rid of GM pollen on their clothes.

A talkshow formed the first part of the day, led by Karel Glastra van Loon, freelance writer and author of the biography on Herman, the first genetically manipulated bull. Then, all visitors were invited to take part in a street/supermarket action. About 100 people, dressed up in various ways and accompanied by a salsadrumband, went to an Edah supermarket and started to label products with
stickers. The supermarket employees and manager, after initial worries about product damage, showed appreciation for the action.
Customers of the supermarket almost all liked the action and some even joined in the labelling!

The crowd returned for a discussion with a representative of a critical farmers' union and a seed saver's organisation. Later they were joined by people from several campaign groups working on GE. We were glad to have a live report from the bioguerrilla action in Belgium going on at the same time!