Bunge Foods Responds Harshly to Protestors

I found this request for help on Rainforest Action Network website and want to pass it along to as many people as possible. Please help if you can.

Last week, thousands of indigenous people and small farmers in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul peacefully blocked roads, railways and invaded dams to draw attention to the global food crisis and policies that favor agribusiness over small farms. Despite the non-violent nature of their actions, six of the participants protesting in front of a Bunge soy-crushing facility were attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets, suffering severe injuries.

Bunge claims to defend human rights, but the company's actions speak far louder and more violently than its words.

Rainforest Action Network is calling on us to take action and hold Bunge accountable for these actions.

Bunge has blocked all incoming e-mails from anybody using Get Active—one of the most common online organizing tools. They effectively blocked emails from RAN supporters. Hence the fax action.

You can click here for more information on how to take action, including joining the RAN action to fax Bunge CEO Alberto Weisser’s office, demanding that he take action to prevent attacks on peaceful demonstrators.

Hundreds of people protested at the Bunge soy-crushing facility, where they were hoping to reclaim bags of food staples produced by family farmers that were supposed to be distributed to the community.

Military police swarmed the peaceful gathering and attacked non-violent protestors. We must hold U.S. corporations accountable for the violence that occurs in and around their facilities.

Bunge allowed a peaceful protest for food to become a violent confrontation between a corporation that benefits from record grain prices and hungry people who are increasingly displaced from their land by soy plantations.

Bunge Foods is a Bunge North America Company whose parent company is Bunge Limited headquartered in White Plains, New York. Bunge is one of the largest grain traders, grain millers, oilseed crushers and shortening and oil refiners.

From their website: “Our integrated agribusiness, fertilizer and food products businesses position us to meet the world’s growing demand for affordable, high quality food and capitalize on global trends in demographics, agriculture and economics. Integration enables us to supply global needs efficiently and create value in a variety of market conditions.”

It seems their goal to ‘capitalize on global trends’ overrides people’s right to peacefully protest.

Thank-you