OneWorld.net (U.S.)

Thank you for the article “'Suicide Seeds' Could Spell Death of Peasant Agriculture, UN Meeting Told” by Haider Rizvi. My friend and I, both grandmothers, have the dubious distinction of being the only ones in the United States who were arrested for taking part in the Pure Foods National Super Market Campaign to Label Foods Containing GMOs.

We felt it imperative we alert the public that without their knowledge or consent they and their loved ones are being used as human guinea pigs because the majority of the food they buy contains untested, unlabeled genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

We were outside the store quietly handing out GMO Fact Sheets and requesting store patrons sign a petition to mandate labeling of foods containing GMOs when we were arrested.

It was humbling experience. In the space of a few minutes my friend and I went from being upstanding citizens with decades of public service to the local, national and international community, to being depicted as common criminals.

We were yelled at by a burly policeman, forced into the back of a police car with no seats, taken to Headquarters for Mug Shots and Finger Prints, and then suffered through a lecture about being a public nuisance by someone young enough to be our offspring. Finally, after determining we were not likely to flee the country, we were released on our own recognizance until our trial date.

It seems ironic: America prides itself as the “Land-of-the-Free,” and as I write, our soldiers are told they are fighting to give Iraqis the freedom to choose. Yet here at home Americans are being denied the basic RIGHT and freedom to know what alien substances are put into the food they buy.

UNTIL PROVEN SAFE for human consumption, 32 countries ban GMOs from their food supply. In the United States, however, under pressure from greedy food giants who make large campaign donations, American lawmakers allow GMOs to be used in foods UNLESS THEY ARE PROVEN HARMFUL!

Our arrest became a topic of curiosity.

Were we hoodlums or heroes?

The print and broadcast media blitz that surrounded our conviction brought support as well as antagonism from across the nation and the world. And though told there was little hope, after much deliberation, I decided to appeal the conviction even if it meant going to jail.

Our pro bono (volunteer) lawyer recommended a Bench Trial (judge only) but I chose a Trial-By-Jury. I wanted my peers to know I was arrested for standing up for their rights so they might know they were being kept ignorant about the adulterated food they ate.

A hectic 10 months later, two days before our Court Date, we were in our lawyer’s office trying to determine a strategy when the Judge made an unprecedented phone call. The judge told our lawyer that Kroger and the City of Decatur had dropped all charges against us.

My elation was short lived when I learned the charges were most likely dropped to avoid more of the massive publicity already given us grandmothers. Kroger, I was told, is in the process of buying out their competitors, the Wild Oats Supermarket and Health Food Chain that champions GMO-free foods and crops. Adverse publicity could be harmful. By dropping the charges, Kroger effectively muzzled us.

Our lawyer says he has to live in this community so does not want to take the case further. My goal now is to gain the services of a lawyer well versed in Constitutional Law who does not mind lots of publicity to help us bring Kroger and the City of Decatur to Court. We feel we were victims of defamation of character, libel, and slander, and that our rights to Free Speech, Assembly, and Petition were violated.

When our forefathers wrote the Constitution, corporations were not meant to have the same rights as individuals. An amendment to that effect does not make it constitutional. If enough people support us, we can surely prove the power is still with the people. We can insist alien food substances be labeled so people can know what they eat. Can you help?

–Gerry Coffey: Spouse, Parent, Grandparent, Health Educator, Concerned Citizen. Decatur, Alabama, USA