Tucson, Arizona: October 17, 2017 – Agrichemical corporation Monsanto hasn’t been in Tucson headlines much since it dropped its bid for a tax incentive with the Pima County Board of Supervisors in February. But the company and its flagship weed killer Roundup have been under fire both nationally and internationally this year and will be in the spotlight again at an educational summit at the Conference Center at the Tucson Osteopathic Medicine Foundation, 3182 North Swan Road, in Tucson from 9 am to 3:30 pm on Saturday, November 4.

Organized by a group of concerned citizens known as Toxin-Free Pima County, the Resist! & Revitalize Our Communities Summit will reveal uncovered secrets about Monsanto’s tactics that propelled Roundup weed killer to be so widely used, along with actions that citizens can take to protect themselves against pesticides and genetically modified foods that Monsanto and other biotech corporations produce.

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by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

The spring film, education, and action series I’ve been doing in Tucson and Pima County for the last month with GMO Free Arizona and Toxin-Free Pima County Coalition culminates this week! During May 18-20, you can:

• Tune into a half-hour radio program to learn more about GMOs, pesticides, and Monsanto, and local action taking place on these issues;
• Attend a non-GMO dinner with farm-to-table selections; and
• Watch a highly rated movie about the miraculous action of seeds that we use to grow food, the threat that Monsanto and other biotech companies pose to them, and what we can do to protect them.

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Call to Action This Week: Tell the Pima Community College Board Members and the Marana Unified School District Board Members to Say No to Monsanto!

by Melissa Diane Smith

After Monsanto dropped its bid to get a tax break from Pima County, a quartet of women—Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt and GMO Free Arizona co-founder Rachel Linden along with farmer Anne Loftfield and Going Against GMOs author Melissa Diane Smith—held several successful events: a Stand Up Against Monsanto Public Forum on February 19 and a Rally and Press Conference before a dozen or so powerful statements were made at the Board of Supervisors meeting on February 21. Supervisor Richard Elias, who has spoken out against Monsanto since the beginning, also spoke at the rally. You can see some of the coverage of these events at the following links:

GMO Free Arizona Rallies Against Monsanto on Tucson News Now TV

Speakers at the Say No to Monsanto Rally on Feb. 21 before the Board of Supervisors Meeting

Although Monsanto dropped the payment in lieu of taxes (tax break) proposal, it is still expected to apply for a foreign trade zone status. Receiving foreign trade zone status would give Monsanto advantages we do not want it to have, so we need to generate massive public input against Monsanto’s application being approved. We will reveal more details about how to oppose as soon as Monsanto files its application.

We have two big Calls to Action this week—not to the Board of Supervisors, but to governing boards of two educational institutions in Pima County. The Pima County supervisors’ involvement in Monsanto’s foreign trade zone application is off the table now, but both the Pima Community College Governing Board and the Marana Unified School District are still considering options having to do with Monsanto. That means we need to write these board members or speak to them in person at their board meetings this week.

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A Call to Action: Follow This Calendar to Participate in All Important Events Feb. 14 – 21, 2017

by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

The momentum of the movement of everyday citizens against Monsanto in Pima County has been building for months. Large, often standing-room-only crowds attended public meetings about Monsanto. Educational events have been consistently packed. A showing of SEED: The Untold Story was close to sold out – with almost 500 people! – at The Loft Cinema on Super Bowl Sunday!

Now, it all boils down to this week. Next Tuesday, February 21, the Pima County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on whether or not to give Monsanto foreign trade zone status and a tax break, and a large group of concerned citizens in concert with GMO Free Arizona have a week of action planned to say a collective NO to the supervisors about that idea.

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Don’t Want Monsanto in Pima County? Use This Schedule to Attend All Important Educational Events, Board of Supervisors Meetings, and Open Public Meetings This Month

by Melissa Diane Smith

It’s the new year, and it’s time to hit the ground running in a full-court press against Monsanto establishing a facility in Pima County.

If you don’t like the idea of Pima County rolling out the red carpet for a chemical corporation that has a notoriously bad record in the communities it takes hold in, be sure to attend as many events and meetings as you possibly can this month and make your voice heard against the outrageous idea of Pima County giving a tax incentive to the corporation.

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The Community Pushes Pima County to Delay a Vote on Monsanto Tax Incentives; What’s Coming Next?

by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

Headline and photo from the November 23 online version of the Arizona Daily Star

The people of Pima County emphatically told the Pima County Board of Supervisors at its board meeting on November 22 that they do not want multinational chemical corporation Monsanto in the Tucson area. A few hundred people attended the meeting, and many held yellow signs that read “Say NO to Monsanto.” There were more than three hours of statements from more than 50 speakers, and virtually everyone who spoke opposed Monsanto’s plans to build a facility in Avra Valley. The eclectic tidal wave of opposition persuaded the board to delay its vote on a tax incentive for Monsanto.

For more coverage of this story, see the Arizona Daily Star article, “Pima County Delays vote on Monsanto Tax Incentives,” and the KGUN 9 news segment, “Outcry Leads Pima Supervisors to Delay Monsanto Decision.”

Grassroots Power

At the meeting, a few children spoke out against the corporation. One woman described Monsanto as a Trojan horse, trying to give gifts now so Pima County would bring in the corporation and then Monsanto would destroy our community from within. Ida Drucilla “Dru” Heaton wore a lei in honor of her Hawaiian heritage and what the Hawaiian people have experienced at the hands of Monsanto.

The collective arguments against Monsanto melded beautifully together and pushed the board away from greenlighting a tax break for Monsanto. Instead, the board unanimously agreed to delay the vote until its meeting on February 21, 2017. The board also agreed that five open public meetings—one in each district—will take place about Monsanto and its proposed plans before that date.

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Follow These 7 Steps to Say NO to Monsanto’s Plans in the Tucson Area

by Melissa Diane Smith

Unbeknownst to many people who live in Pima County, controversial multinational biotechnology giant Monsanto Co., which is known for bringing environmental and health damage to the areas that grow its genetically modified and pesticide-laden crops, is swiftly taking action to move a chunk of its seed operation into Pima County just northwest of Tucson. A small but powerful coalition of Pima County and Arizona residents, businesses, and non-profit organizations have already taken action to oppose Monsanto’s efforts, and we call on you to join the “Stop Monsanto in the Tucson Area” action coalition.

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