Banners, more protests against Monsanto

STL Today, By Georgina Gustin, March 20, 2012 

Protestors gather Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, at Monsanto headquarters
in Creve Coeur. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford

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Protesters who are part of a movement calling itself Occupy Monsanto hung banners throughout the region early Tuesday, a day after holding a march through downtown St. Louis and days after protests against the company were held in some 30 cities across the country.

Some of the signs read "FDA is Genetically Contaminated by Monsanto" and "Genetic Biohazard: Defend Yourself."

By mid-day Tuesday, roughly half of the 13 banners, which were hung mostly on highway overpasses, had been removed by law enforcement, according to an Occupy Monsanto organizer.

Over the weekend the Creve Couer-based biotechnology giant told employees at a research facility in Davis, Calif., that they did not need to come to work, out of concern for their safety amid protests there.

A Monsanto spokesperson said 60 people work at the facility, but did not comment further.

The movement, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, is trying to urge people to take part in a one-day international protest on September 17, the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The group is calling on federal regulators to require mandatory labeling of foods containing transgenic ingredients, and is pushing to stop approval of new crops that would be genetically engineered to withstand applications of old-generation herbicides.

The company said it respects the rights of the protesters to voice their opinions, but did not comment beyond that.

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