Diyarbakir, 21 October. No to GMOs platform's local NGOs in Diyarbakir set the tomato in two different place of the city. The first action with the Monster Tomato took place at the Dicle University. Around 2500 signs were collected by the students and the academicians of the University. Around 3 pm, Monster Tomato was carried to the city center, at the "Arts Street". In total more than 5000 signatures were collected.
The mayor of Diyarbakir -Firat Anli- and the mayor of Yenisehir district -Osman Baydemir- supported the campaign in Diyarbakir.
One of main message in Diyarbakir was the protection of the biodiversity. It was mentioned that, during the excavations of the archaelogical site CAYONU (which was dated 8.000 BC) ,wheat seeds were found. This cultured wheat is one of the wild wheat species originally from Anatolia, where more than 2000 endemic plants are to be protected.
Another message was safe food for everyone. It was asked to the public to take care of their own seeds and not to let the foreigners to change their food diversity and culture. It's fair to say there is a radical food culture in the south-eastern and eastern of Turkey, and this culture is hard to be changed by GMO foods.
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