It’s Time to Move Beyond GM
There’s a new campaign in town…
And we launched with a bang at London’s Garden Museum where we welcomed over 130 people through the doors of The Garden Museum on the evening of Friday October 10 to eat, drink, watch and ask questions about GMOs, seed sovereignty and the future of food.
The evening marked the official launch of the Beyond GM campaign as well as the beginning of The Great Seed Festival and was so well attended, that many people ended up standing in order to view the documentary.
The American film, which scooped the best documentary feature film at the recent 24th Annual Environmental Media Association Awards in California, follows a father of three, Jeremy Siefert, as he travels across the US trying to find answers to his questions about genetically modified food.
Siefert’s honest and very human approach to this complex subject is what makes the film so appealing and by the end of the evening it was clear it had resonated with many people in the audience who also have concerns.
The film sparked a variety of interesting questions and comments from the audience, which stayed behind to take part in the panel discussion, chaired by myself, joined by fellow campaign director, Lawrence Woodward; farmer and founder of the CSA Chagfood in Chagford, Devon, Ed Hamer; and organic entrepreneur and founder of Jo Wood Organics, Jo Wood.
Although the evening focused on a serious subject, there was still time for a few drinks, a delicious organic buffet courtesy of chef Sylvain Jamois and good deal of banter. While everyone expected to learn something, many commented that they hadn’t expected to have such an enjoyable time doing so.
The sense of community and open, engaged inquiry ran right through the whole of the London Seeds Festival, which attracted a varied and lively number of visitors over the weekend and following week.
Beyond GM will be hosting more events like this so watch this space!
