Liverpool v Cargill

Cargill is the worlds largest privately owned company, controlling 25% of the worlds grain harvest, also one of the top three food and drink corporations it has concerns in all aspects of food production; processing, feed and fertilisers, transportation and commodity trading. Cargill’s operations include the UK’s only soya crushing plant, located in Liverpool. The docks and this plant are the main entry point for GMO’s into the country.

“5th-10th March 2001. What a wonderful week..... We were few and yet we did much!”

In six group meetings Liverpool against GenetiX was born and the week of actions was organised. Actions spread through Crosby, Bootle, Seaforth Docks and Liverpool City centre. The whole week had flavours of hard work, persuasion, learning, acceptance and a hint of glory by the end of it.

We woke people up at Crosby on Tuesday with huge painted foam mutant animals and vegetables outside and inside Sainsbury’s. Locals thought they were dreaming when they saw a giant pea-pod full of money chasing a small winged banana to make sure she didn’t run into the road!

There were public meetings in both Bootle and Liverpool City Centre, by two speakers who offered us alternatives, although there weren’t a million locals the ones that were there made themselves plain and thus lively dialogues ensued.

Thursday we bombarded Bootle shoppers with info about Cargill’s. The overgrown fish smoking a cigarette hung around with many mutant vegetables that day and they got many strange looks from shoppers and passersby! As with the rest of the week the locals were mostly really friendly and interested, the coppers were chilled and many signed petitions.

We had police interest all week but on Friday in Seaforth the police got a little nervous and the port coppers kept us under close observation, while two of our lot and one of our camera technicians (!!) were escorted to meet the PR lady from Cargill’s who was stunned that anyone thought they could be seen as bad and tried to tell us that they had a good environmental reputation and that the locals liked them - we gently told them otherwise.

Cargill were unable to answer to their Corporate Crimes and hadn’t heard of Corporate Watch and said they would be looking on the website to read the briefing about them. Ha - Ha - Ha. Many good slogans were produced during the week my personal favourite being ‘Don’t work for Cargill’s it’s SHITE’.

“Work together and be effective or these companies will keep on having the edge, and all we will be, is an irritation and fodder for the justice system.”

Liverpool against GenetiX
c/o 96 Bold Street, Liverpool, L1 4HY
0151-707-1788 or 07890-704-881

Cargill briefings available from Corporate watch (see contacts) or www.gm-info.org.uk