Seed Farmers Outlawed?

On October 14th 2016, the Bazaar of Ideas in The Hague will host the inauguration of the People’s Assembly as well as the photographic exhibition “Farmerseeds: Outlaw?” by French photographer Gerald de Vivies. Monsanto and their corporate allies are pushing farmers out of the law. are these farmers to be considered outlaws? In this work, Gerard de Vivies investigates the monopolistic attitude of multinationals vis-à-vis traditional family farming.

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Artist statement:

Settled in southeast France in the Hautes-Alpes, I work mainly on commission for institutions such as the Musée Muséum Départemental in Gap, Communautés de Communes, and private organisations.

From fishermen in the North Sea, to the people encountered on my travels through India, Asia and Africa, my work maintains a human connection.

During a career pause, I began learning about the details of the seed trade. Once convinced of this industrial aberration, I have tried to speak out in my own way (through photography), about the dangers of patenting the living, and the threats to non-industrial and particularly family-based agriculture. The militant graphics employed here raise awareness more powerfully than the image alone.
In causing the disappearance of plant diversity, the agro-industry is at the same time impoverishing another form of diversity, that of the women and men who have always adapted these seeds.
Farmers and seeds: a critical duo for our future.

 

Artist website: http://gerald-de-vivies-photographe.com/divers.html

 

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  1. Pingback: Monsanto Tribunal and People’s Assembly – Report

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