50 000 manifestants à Berlin contre TAFTA et OGM

Stoptafta – 18/01/2015 –

German farmers and consumer rights activists take part in a march to protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), mass husbandry and genetic engineering in Berlin, January 17, 2015. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

More than 120 organizations joined the fifth annual ‘We are Fed Up!’ demonstration, which this year focused on the increased importation of American farming practices – such as genetic modification, frequent antibiotic injections for animals, and chemical meat treatments – following the implementation of the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

A demonstrators takes part in a German farmers and consumer rights activists march to protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), mass husbandry and genetic engineering in Berlin, January 17, 2015. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

« The EU-USA trade agreement TTIP only serves global concerns, and will take away the means of existence from many farms here and across the world, » rally organizer Jochen Fritz told the media.

Tractors take part in protest of German farmers and consumer rights activists against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), mass husbandry and genetic engineering in Berlin, January 17, 2015. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

Police said that 25,000 people joined the peaceful demonstration – with organizers claiming twice that number – though the most impressive spectacle included a procession of 80 tractors manned by angry farmers. The demonstration was timed to coincide with International Green Week, a large agriculture fair that has just begun in Berlin.

German farmers and consumer rights activists perform as the take part in a march to protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), mass husbandry and genetic engineering in front of the Reichtsgas building Berlin, January 17, 2015. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

“Eating is political. Every single decision I make about what to buy is determined by how the animals are kept, or what grows in our fields. And I can make sure that I support the farmers and not the big agricultural industry corporations,” said Fritz.

A protestor holds up a figure with a sign reading « market-compliant democracy- we rule elections » (marktkonforme Demokratie- Die Wahlen bestimmen wir) during a demonstration against the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Pact) in Berlin, on January 17, 2015. (AFP/DPA)

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The much stalled TTIP, whose 24-chapter provisional text was made public last week after formal negotiations since July 2013, seeks to formalize the economic relationship between the EU and US economies across the board. The two partners trade nearly €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) worth of goods and services annually.

Protestors take part in a demonstration against the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Pact) in Berlin, on January 17, 2015. (AFP/DPA)

But the search for standardization has led to wide rifts in several areas – specifically agriculture – with US-based multinationals such as Monsanto leading the way in technological innovations, while the European public remains wary, despite assurances from EU regulators.