Earth Grab

Public Forum -- Friday, November 26, University of Montreal, Montreal

“Earth Grab: The rush to grow ‘biomass’ for fuels and industry will be worth $1/2 trillion – but won’t feed people, or stop climate change.” Farm leaders from the Global South describe the reality and propose alternatives.

Corporations are rushing to grab and convert plant matter – called “biomass” - into fuel, chemicals, power, and other profitable commodities. They are using high-risk genetic engineering technologies to accelerate this grab. The result is an emerging global “biomass economy” that threatens to eat up our crops, forests and other plant life. Just as the demand for corn ethanol led to higher food prices and hunger, the massive biomass-grab will have devastating consequences for people and our environment, here and in developing countries. What are corporations using “biomass” for? Join us to find what the “earth grab” will mean and how people in Canada and around the world are fighting for our future.

The public forum kicked off the biennial Food Secure Canada Assembly (Sat Nov 27 and Sun Nov 28) in Montreal.

Presented by Food Secure Canada with: Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, Development and Peace, ETC Group, GRAIN, Greenpeace, Inter Pares, National Farmers Union, Peoples Food Policy Project, The Ram’s Horn, Union Paysanne, USC Canada.

Watch it on YouTube!

Featuring:

Iderle Brénus, leader/organizer, Mouvement paysan Papaye, Haiti

Camila Moreno, environmental lawyer, Friends of the Earth, Brazil

Jim Thomas, ETC Group, Montreal

Ibrahim Coulibaly, farm movement leader, COPAGEN, Mali

with Cathleen Kneen, Food Secure Canada