Civil society challenges the global food system: the international monsanto tribunal
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Abstract
The global food system has severe implications for human and animal health, soil quality, biodiversity, and farmers’ quality of life. This paper provides an analysis on how transnational alliances challenge the global food system. We illustrate this by focusing on the activities and hearings of the International Monsanto Tribunal, which was held in the Hague in October 2016. The Monsanto Tribunal provided a platform for civil society organisations and enabled the creation and strengthening of transnational alliances to demand attention for local struggles and legal disputes in relation to Monsanto’s products in various countries. With the involvement of independent and renowned (legal) experts, the knowledge exchange between local victims and broader civil society was enhanced, and the Monsanto Tribunal reinforced social movement’s goals towards unveiling, and demanding justice for the negative effects caused by the global food system. The advisory opinion determined that Monsanto’s practices and products are in violation with international human rights standards and urged ‘ecocide’ to be recognized as a gross violation of human rights. The Monsanto Tribunal exemplified that there is an immediate need for structural change in the current global food system.
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