[cgfc-discuss] [Biodemocracy] Join the OCA for the WTO Teach-ins & Protests in Cancun Mexico

[biodemocracy at lists.organicconsumers.org]

Join an OCA Delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Protests
in Cancun, Mexico (September 4-11, 2003)\

In 1999, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) helped organize
protests and teach-ins against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
Seattle.

The "Battle of Seattle", as it came to be known, was the coming of age
of the global grassroots in its attempt to stop the headlong rush of
corporate globalization.

Now you have the opportunity to join OCA director Ronnie Cummins and
other OCA staff on an escorted delegation to the historic teach-ins
and  protests against the WTO in Cancun, Mexico.

Thousands of concerned citizens from North and South America, Africa,
Europe, and Asia are expected to converge on Cancun, including leading
farm, food, Fair Trade, and anti-GE activists. They'll attend a wide
range of workshops, forums, and cultural events. Following up on the
theme of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, "Another
World is Possible," the emphasis in Cancun will be on presenting
alternatives to corporate globalization.

Organizers emphasize that public events will be strictly non-violent,
and that any civil disobedience protests will be organized separately
from the teach-ins and educational workshops.

Trade analysts predict that the outcome of the WTO Ministerial in
Cancun will largely determine whether such corporate globalization
schemes as genetic engineering, water privatization, investment and
social services privatization, and patenting of drugs and life forms
will go forward.

In the wake of the unpopular war in Iraq, the Bush administration will
likely find itself increasingly isolated.

The OCA delegation, limited to 100 people, will include experts on
genetic engineering and organic agriculture such as Ronnie Cummins,
OCA National Director; Dr. Michael Hansen, from the Consumers Union;
Laura Miller and John Stauber, publishers of PR Watch, a leading
source of information on corporate power and propaganda; and Ryan
Zinn, OCA's biodiversity specialist. These leaders, and others,
including Mexican activists, will provide in-depth presentations and
workshops for delegation  participants.

Delegates will also have the opportunity to participate in a wide
array of activities, including the International Forum on
Globalization's "Teach-In on the WTO" and the International Fair Trade

Expo and Symposium, as well as local Mayan archeological sites, like
Tulum.

Costs for the September 4-11 OCA Delegation to Cancun will be $850
(airfare, not included), and includes meals, lodging, workshops, and
transportation. Private rooms are available for an additional $200.

To reserve your space on the WTO delegation, send a $400 deposit to:



Organic Consumers Association,
6101 Cliff Estate Road,
Little Marais, MN 55614
or call the OCA office at 218-226-4164.
For further information send an e-mail to
mexicotrip at organicconsumers.org
http://www.organicconsumers.org/wto_cancun.htm







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