Campaign Against Bayer Kicks Off!

At the Earth First! Summer Gathering this year, Bayer was picked as Public Enemy No 1 in the run-up to the commercialisation of GM crops in this country. Due to aggressive anti-GM feeling in the UK, everyone else involved in GM crop technology has upped and left the UK. It just ain’t worth it! The only company left here is Bayer and even Bayer says if it gets too much hassle in UK, it will take it’s GM interests elsewhere. Not great for ‘elsewhere’ but a small victory against GM nonetheless.

The campaign against Bayer is a war of attrition. Get out there as much as you can and attack Bayer however you can! There is also a National Day of Action against Bayer on 25 September.

Bayer and its subsidiaries have premises all over the UK and names and addresses somewhere for the Directors of Bio-Devastation running their game… so get researching, get your mates together and make life hazardous for Bayer!

Bayer-No-Mates!

Bayer offices were attacked three times in one week at the end of August this year:

On the 26th, Bayer Crop Sciences in North Yorkshire had all 3 locks jammed with liquid metal. On the 27th,their headquarters in Newbury were invaded and work disrupted. On the 29th, a subsidiary of Bayer, called Dystar, in Huddersfield had its walls and windows spray-painted with anti-Bayer slogans and the only lock jammed with liquid metal.

Stall Trashed

On Wednesday 3rd September, Bayer’s stall at the British Potato Festival 2003 got well and truly trashed by a 25-strong group of seriously pissed off people.

Potatoes were hurled, tables uprooted, computers damaged and the company’s flyers were binned. Despite excessive numbers of beefy staff protecting their exhibition (have they realised they’re under attack, perhaps?), the stall was attacked not once but twice, to the sound of breaking glass and smeared reputation. Onlookers were given anti-GM leaflets and much ranting got done. Everyone got away.

If Bayer gets this kind of attention at every public event, no event will want to give them space. This action took place with virtually no planning, so do some research, get your mates together and go bash Bayer!

Top GM Conference Disrupted

On Thursday 4th September, a scientist from Bayer’s French offices was due to speak at an international pro-GM conference at York University. Bayer were also sponsoring the event.

The delegate from Bayer was due to re-open the conference after lunch with a talk on GM technology. Before the afternoon got underway, however, an audacious daylight raid by a small group of activists resulted in £5,000 worth (police quote) of damage and seriously interfered with the smooth running of the event. While the Dr’s of Evil were at lunch, electronic equipment was vanished, a foul-smelling noxious substance was poured on carpets, upholstery and seats, a wall-sized projector screen was ruined by spraying anti-Bayer/anti-GM slogans and anti-Bayer campaign leaflets were left on seats for delegates. One person from the group was collared by security outside the building leading to a single arrest.

This GM research conference had a strong presence of British scientists from the John Innes Centre, the University of Nottingham, the University of Bristol and the University of York as well as representatives from abroad, from industry and from Bayer in particular. Find yourself a scum GM researcher to hassle in your area. Let us know what you do!

For more info on that conference, go to www.epsoweb.org

Bayer (and other genetics) info: www.corporatewatch.org.uk, www.bayerhazard.com, www.geneticsaction.org.uk, www.genewatch.org.uk

Don't forget to target farmers too... In July this year, activists paid a visit to a farmer known to have grown experimental GM crops in the UK and caused criminal damage to his property. Even if they commercialise GM crops, they still have to find people to grow it, so think about paying similar visits to farmers you know are going to grow it.