[Seattle-editorial] FEATURE PROPOSAL: Sacramento WTO

[jonathan lawson]

subtitle: CORPORATIONS AND THE GLOBAL FOOD SUPPLY
title: Activists Descend Upon Agribusiness Mini-WTO in Sacramento

On June 22-25, the 180 WTO member states will send senior trade ministers 
to Sacramento for a "Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural 
Science and Technology," a stepping stone to the September WTO Ministerial 
in Cancun and  November's FTAA Summit in Miami. The conference and an 
accompanying expo will highlight the "benefits" of transnational 
agribusiness and biotechnology. Neither event is open to the public. The US 
government hopes to use this mini-WTO to impose its corporate agricultural 
agenda on the rest of the world, including new technologies such as genetic 
engineering.

<p>Organizations including <a 
href="http://www.viacampesina.org/art_english.php3?id_article=212">Via 
Campesina</a>, the <a 
href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/sacramento041003.cfm">Organic 
Consumers Association</a> and <a 
href="http://www.biodev.org/archives/000054.php">Biodevastation</a> have 
invited activists of all nations to come to Sacramento, to resistance 
corporate domination of the world's food supply. The Sacramento Coalition 
for Sustainable Agriculture is organizing a response to the Conference and 
Expo. Events in Sacramento will include a public demonstration and march, 
media events, street theater, public education forums and literature, and 
non-violent direct actions. <a href="http://www.sacmobilization.org">Visit 
their organizing site for details.</a>

<p><a href="http://www.sacmobilization.org">Sacramento Mobilization</a> | 
<a href="http://www.nwrage.org">NW RAGE</a> | <a 
href="http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2003-06/15shiva.cfm">Vandana 
Shiva on Food Slavery</a>

image: http://vancouver.indymedia.org/uploads/sacramento.jpg