We, the Citizens, Must Protect Our Healthy Food
Protecting Sovereignty Campaign 1 - “Corn”

Now is the time for food sovereignty!
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), genetically modified corn, artificial additives...Fears of foods around us have increased. “Our foods must be produced ecologically and healthily through credible process.” Nevertheless, in reality, violation of this obviously deserved tight became common.

As a result of our undiscerning decision, even handing over our food, to develop the domestic economy, we are now facing a serious problem of low food self-supplying rate that is below 5% besides rice production. Moreover, native seeds has been dying off and threatened by transnational grain companies.

Have you ever considered what it means to lose native seeds?
Native seeds are national treasure of a country. Seeds are the beginning of farming and the basis of safe consumption. Also, seeds are crucial resource for the humans to acquire crops for the survival in drastically changing Earth and to fulfill various desires. These seeds have been handed down from generation to generation. However, as a result of ‘green revolution,’ an agricultural policy to improve productivity, native seed were widely supplied and the control of the native seeds was taken by grain companies. Furthermore, the transnational corporations have initiated new projects to create new genetically modified seeds and have attempted consistently to spread them in the world. Such reality means the companies’ control over our right to choose the seeds.

We have already confronted the danger 
The danger is the GM corns that are imported due to worldwide food shortages. Unusual climatic changes, prohibition of exporting Non-GM corns in China and more consumption of bio-fuels have increased the price of corn unprecedentedly. Consequently, epic increase in price has brought GM corn into our country. Although we had declared not to eat GM corn and chronically asked for enforcement of stricter GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) labeling system for our guaranteed rights to know what we are eating, our demand has been neglected. As a result, imported GM corns are contained in our foods as starch and starch sugar without any label that indicates the use of GM corns.

Thus, in order to fix the situation and protect salutary foods, Korean Federation for Environmental Movement and Korean Women Peasants Association are initiating the “Protecting Sovereignty for foods with native seeds Campaign”. The first goal is to protect domestic corns with 0.8% of self-supplying rate.

As the citizens’ cooperation is making great success in enforcing “Free from GM corn” agreements in many companies, we must now start the campaign to protect and spread out domestic seeds and increase nation’s self-supplying rate.

Even if the campaign is infinitesimal in comparison to large transnational corporation, such citizens’ effort will be the starting point of augmenting the self-supplying rate and raising public awareness and the agricultural policy in accordance with the saving the native seeds.

<GM - Free agreement participating companies>   Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Donga-otsuka Co. Ltd, Dongwon F&B Co. Ltd, Lotteham Co. Ltd, Maniker Co. Ltd, Maeil Co. Ltd, Woongjin Foods Co. Ltd, Ildong Foodis Co. Ltd, Jangchungdongwangjokbal Co. Ltd, Dr.Chung’s Food Co. Ltd, Coca Cola Korea Co. Ltd, Kellogg’s Co. Ltd

Korea federation for environmental Movement
Korea women farmers association
Citizens network no GMO corn.