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Campaign against GMOs launched in Turkey

Istanbul, 2 October. By showing a six meter high inflatable GMO monster tomato on the main square in Istanbul, Turkish civil society has kickstarted a public campaign against genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The campaign launch was widely reported by the Turkish media. During the first day of the campaign already 3500 signatures against GMOs were collected from concerned citizens.

Until the beginning of 2004 genetically modified (GM) foods and crops were almost unknown to Turiskh society. However since the establishment of the platform 'GDO, ya Hayir' (No to GMOs) in March 2004 this situation is rapidly changing.

The Platfom consists of 30 civil society groups from all over Turkey. It unites consumers' organisations, environmental NGOs and (organic) farmers groups, as well as individuals such as scientists, artists and many activists. The first aim of the platform is to block the introduction of GMOs into the environment. Turkey is a country that is very rich in biodiversity and this richness could be under threath if commercial releases of GMOs would take place. Currently, the cultivation of GMOs in Turkey is not allowed, but there is a real risk that large scale growing of GMOs could eventually happen since big biotech corporations like Monsanto are clearly present in the country.

Another aim of the platform is to establish the right to know about GMOs in food. Currently GM food in Turkey is completely unregulated. The Turkish government does not conduct any controls or food tests and there is no obligation to label GM food. Meanwhile there are serious suspicions that GM foods are coming into the country, since soya and maize are imported from the US, a country where GM maize and GM soya are grown on a big scale. So there is reason for serious concern, since Turkish people might already be eating GM foods without knowing about it and without any assessment of the risks.

The awareness raising campaign that started in Istanbul last Saturday and that is supported by Friends of the Earth and the Heinrich Böll Foundation will last one month, during which the monster tomato will tour around Turkey. The tour will end in the capital Ankara, where signatures collected from concerned citizens will be handed over to the Parliament. The first day of the tour started already at 7.00 AM at the Taksim square, the most important square of Istanbul. The tomato was blown-up and activist of the platform were approching people waiting for the bus, asking them to sign up to a petition against GMOs.. Around 11:30 the 'No to GMOs' platform presented their declaration to the media during an open air press conference. More than ten Turkish TV stations were present and they made many interviews with different members of the platform.

Just a few hours after the press conference, the campaign was broadcasted by TV and radio and many citizens started to show up at the Taksim square to sign the petition. More than 3500 signatures were collected during the first day of the tour and the message 'No to GMOs' was in the ears of many citizens all over the country. In the evening the GMO monster tomato and a spokesperson of the platform, who is also a medical docter, appeared in the eight o'clock news of the Turkish state TV TRT. The docter clearly warned for the potential allergenicity of GMOs. Citizens were interviewed saying that they had signed because they know that GMOs could be harmful for them, and the journalist was saying that this was the starting point of a tour around Turkey during a month, ending with the hand-in of signatures to the Parliament in Ankara.

The day after the kickstart of the campaign the newspapers showed colourful pictures of the tomato and presented headlines such as 'Signing for clean food', 'Monster Tomato against GMOs'.

It is no overstatement to say that the start of the GMO campaign in Turkey contains many promises for the future.

From Istanbul,
Geert Ritsema, Friends of the Earth
Carmen Olmedo, Friends of the Earth

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