The grassroots international March Against Monsanto is spreading to the Middle Keys. On Saturday, May 25 at 2 p.m., Keys residents are planning a march from the Marathon Community Park to the 7 Mile Bridge. The walk is intended to raise awareness about events unfolding in regards to the Monsanto Agriculture Company.
Keys resident Sharyn Flint, organizer of the Marathon March Against Monsanto, has taken up the cause.
“I was looking around, thinking that someone should do something about this because I knew it was wrong, and then I realized that I was somebody,” said Flint. “It is no longer about our generation, but what we can do for our children and their generation. This march is about increasing education and awareness about GMOs [genetically modified food] and what we can do about them.”
The Monsanto Protection Act, officially known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, is a controversial agricultural provision inserted into budget legislation, intended to prevent the federal government shut down as a result of the sequester. The International Business Times recently reported that the Farmers Assurance Provision, “…effectively bars federal courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of controversial genetically modified (aka GMO) or genetically engineered (GE) seeds, no matter what health issues may arise concerning GMOs in the future.”
The provision has prompted some Florida Keys residents into action. Sixty locals have pledged their support for the local march on Facebook. Organizers invite the public to learn more about the act and take part in the march. The march in Marathon will coincide with marches planned in over 316 locations in 36 different countries around the world on the same day.
By Blake McCarthy
