Two Arrested During Occupation Of Tegel Factory
Two Arrested During Greenpeace Occupation Of Tegel Factory
19 January 2001, Christchurch –Two activists
from the Rainbow Warrior were arrested this morning after
Greenpeace occupied a Tegel factory in Christchurch to
protest the use of GE soya meal in animal feed.
One activist had attached himself to a tripod at the entrance of the factory and the other activist was chained to the main gate of the factory.
“We want to demonstrate that GE soy is not needed and not wanted in the environment or the food chain. Genetic engineering is a new technology that poses uncontrollable and irreversible risks; it is living pollution,” said Annette Cotter, Greenpeace campaigner.
“We have delivered two tonnes of GE free soya beans to Tegel today to prove that there are GE free alternatives. The worlds largest food supermarket, Carrefour has committed to GE free animal feed, as has Tesco the third largest food supermarket and McDonalds in Europe can guarantee its chicken has been fed GE free animal feed ,” said Cotter. These companies are sourcing their GE free soy from India and Brazil, where it is illegal to grow GE crops.
Over the last month the Rainbow Warrior has been campaigning for a GE free future and activists from the ship have been involved in a number of actions that target GE in the foodchain.