As early as 6 a.m. on May 24, around 100 protesters had already gathered at the Davis office of Monsanto Company at 1910 Fifth St. — known to most as just Monsanto — to express their discontent with the actions and legacy of the multinational agribusiness corporation.

“We’re just trying to spread awareness about their history and eventually bring them down,” said Kim Sloan, lead activist with the Anti-Monsanto Project (AMP) who was present at the protest.

The protest was initiated by the Anti-Monsanto Project, a movement composed of over 30 Northern California groups and organizations, as part of the worldwide March Against Monsanto movement. The movement aims to “bring awareness to health, agricultural, environmental and political issues associated with Monsanto,” according to the demand letter issued by the AMP.

That letter, according to Sloan, was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Department of Agriculture, Gov. Jerry Brown and California Attorney General Kamala Harris, among others, as part of the lobbying efforts of the AMP. The AMP lobbied at the Capitol on May 22, in addition to marching at the Capitol on May 25 and attempting to shut down the Davis Monsanto office.

Protesters blocked off the driveways leading into the office parking lot from Fifth Street, although the building was still accessible from a back driveway. On multiple occasions, drivers, possibly Monsanto employees, attempted to drive into the lot from Fifth Street before realizing they were blocked and driving away. Protesters formed a human chain across the back driveway at approximately 7 a.m., but let police officers through.

“We’re just out here keeping the peace,” said Davis Police Lt. Ton Phan. “So far there have been no issues and we like that.”

At approximately 7:30 a.m., a man on a bicycle approached the chain, telling the protesters, “I’ll run you down,” if the protestors refused to move and let him pass. The man biked through, and a protester asked if he worked for Monsanto.

“Yes I do, and I’m proud of it,” the bicyclist said.

In addition to the formation of a human chain, protesters employed the use of various chants such as “human need, not corporate greed” along with “hey, hey, no, no, GMO has got to go” and “hey, hey, no, no, shut down Monsanto.” Many protesters stood along Fifth Street with signs and were honked at by motorists, seemingly in approval.

“This is the largest event we’ve ever had in Davis and and we’re expecting around 1,000 people to come through here today,” Sloan said. “On May 22, we lobbied legislators and sent out our demand letter, but today is about education. I believe highly in the value of public participation, especially considering what our government has done with Monsanto.”

Monsanto and politics
Sloan cited the Supreme Court ruling in Bowman v. Monsanto on May 13, in which the court ruled in favor of Monsanto and held that patent exhaustion does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting without the permission of the patent holder — in this case, Monsanto. Monsanto has the patent rights to 96 percent of the GM (genetically-modified) seeds planted in the US, according to a fact sheet issued by the AMP.

“Justice Clarence Walker was an attorney for Monsanto,” Sloan said.

Sloan mentioned a number of other factors that have fired up the opposition against Monsanto, such as the failure of Proposition 37 to pass in the 2012 elections, a ballot initiative which would have required the labeling of GMO products sold in California. Monsanto was the leading financial contributor in the opposition campaign.

A federal bill recently proposed by California Senator Barbara Boxer and supported by the AMP, the “Genetically Engineered Food Right-To-Know Act,” is once again tackling the issue, and would require the labeling of GMO foods. Sixty-four countries, including China, Japan, Russia and all countries within the EU, currently require GMO foods to be labeled.

“It’s a huge issue in California, but we don’t have as much power on the federal level, so we’re lobbying at the state level hoping to eventually reach the federal level,” Sloan said. “That’s our first step.”

Protester motivations
The event attracted both seasoned and first-time protesters, all of whom had slightly different personal motivations for voicing their concerns.

“This is the first protest I’ve been to in my life,” said Sacramento resident Lynn Sagerdahl. “I’m not much of an activist, but I feel I don’t have a right to talk about it without doing anything.”

Sagerdahl expressed concern about Monsanto’s GM seeds and their effect on bee population, holding a sign reading, “All we are saying is give bees a chance.” March against Monsanto pamphlets available at the protest cite connections between GM seeds and colony collapse disorder (CCD).

“I used to go into my lavender plants and watch the bees, and in the last couple years there are less and less,” Sagerdahl said. “I don’t think companies like Monsanto see the big picture.”

Sagerdahl was not the only first-time protester at the event.

“This is the first protest I’ve been to in my life. I’m passionate about this because it’s killing us and killing our kids,” said physician assistant and midwife Margie DiFelice. “I bought a house in 1989 right next to the fields and would see the planes flying over and spraying. I wouldn’t let my kids play outside then.”

Also at the protest was Andrea Mrotz, leader and organizer of Label GMOs Vallejo/Benicia. Mrotz graduated from UC Davis with a degree in microbiology and is working to ban GMOs in Solano County.

“I did genetic modification in the lab there, so I’m familiar with it,” Mrotz said. “I think a lot of people don’t understand GMOs and what exactly they are, and with my scientific background I want to spread awareness in my community [Vallejo/Benicia].”

Mrotz became involved in the cause around the 2012 elections when she began volunteering on behalf of the Yes on 37 initiative. After the election, she began working with the California grassroots organization behind the initiative, Label GMOs, and wanted to form a group in her community.

“If Marin and Mendocino County can do it, why can’t we?” Mrotz said on banning GMOs.

Mrotz, who held a sign at the protest, has a tattoo on her forearm of an ear of corn. On closer investigation, it is apparent that several of the kernels are drawn to resemble human skulls.

“The biggest scare is biological contamination,” Mrotz said. “It’s not just about protesting, but educating people about the small things they can do, like gardening. We need more people speaking out to be heard.”

Monsanto’s response
Tom Helscher, director of corporate affairs for Monsanto, issued a statement via email regarding the protest.

“While we respect the right of individuals to express their point of view on these topics, harassment of individuals is not an appropriate way to further their cause,” Helscher said. “At Monsanto, we believe we are making a contribution to improving agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving natural resources such as water and energy.”

Sloan connected her activism with the AMP to other issues of social justice she finds concerning.

“It’s all one for me. The raping and pillaging of our environment, to me, is connected to violence against women,” Sloan said. “That’s kind of out there. But that’s my ideology.”

MEREDITH STURMER can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

On May 17, The Atlantic magazine published a list of the 25 most bikeable neighborhoods in America, based on ratings given to each neighborhood by Bike Score, an extension of the Walk Score and Transit Score. Davis had five neighborhoods in the ranking and Sacramento had seven.

Professors from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia helped to develop the methodology for rating cities. The rankings are based on thousands of voters from the community near the headquarters in Seattle, Wash. Voters suggested over 100 factors that make a city bikeable.

“Bike Score provides a 0-100 rating of the bikeability of a location based on the availability of bike infrastructure (lanes and trails), the hilliness of the area, nearby amenities and road connectivity, [in addition to] the number of bike commuters,” Walkscore CEO Josh Herst said in an email.

The first Bike Score came out in May 2012, with rankings for only 10 U.S. cities, and today they offer a Bike Score for over 100 U.S. cities. Based on a city’s bike score, cities are put into categories: Biker’s Paradise (90-100), Very Bikeable (70-89), Bikeable (50-69) and Somewhat Bikeable (0-49).

Old North Davis was rated as the number one bikeable neighborhood, with a perfect score of 100. Two other Davis neighborhoods, Old East Davis and Downtown Core, also received perfect scores, along with neighborhoods in Madison, Wis., Boulder, Colo. and Eugene, Ore. University Avenue in Davis was given a score of 99.8, and Interland/University Research Park in Davis received a score of 99.7.

The high ranking that neighborhoods in the City of Davis received from Bike Score doesn’t come as a surprise to David Takemoto-Weerts, TAPS Bicycle Program Coordinator.

“Biking became popular in Davis in the 1960s, before the city started to promote it. [Davis is] flat, has mild weather year round and is surrounded by farmland. If you lived in Davis, your commute was relatively short in the 1960s — two to four miles,” Takemoto-Weerts said.

In the 1960s, when Davis started to become a pioneering bicycle city, a much higher percentage of the city’s population was involved with the university than today, so any efforts to improve bikeability on campus inevitably spread to the surrounding city.

“The city and campus have a symbiotic relationship,” Takemoto-Weerts said.

Several of the top Bike Score cities in the U.S. are known as college towns, including Cambridge, Davis, Berkeley and Boulder.

The bikeability of the UC Davis campus was greatly influenced by Emil Mrak, who was the chancellor of UC Davis from 1959-69. He aimed to make the campus more bicycle-friendly and in 1967 introduced the bicycle-only blocks around campus.

He also made sure that bike parking was available at every building, close to the major entrances to encourage students and faculty to bike to class.

The City of Davis was the first city in the U.S. to implement bike lanes in 1967, no small feat.

“It wasn’t an easy process, [the project] had to go through Caltrans and various legislatures for approval,” Takemoto-Weerts said.

In 2006 Davis became the first city to earn the Platinum Bicycle-Friendly Community Award from the League of American Bicyclists. The City of Davis is also home to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame.

Jimmy Fong, a transportation program specialist for the City of Davis, said that the city plans to improve bikeability for its residents.

“We want to improve safety, continue to educate bikers and incorporate infrastructure updates for problem areas,” Fong said. “In 2017, the 50th anniversary of bike lanes in Davis, we will celebrate with a festival. We want to move up to the Diamond Bicycle-Friendly Community award.”

The highest-ranking neighborhood on the Atlantic’s list is Old North Davis, which is getting ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary. It was the first suburb of Davis. Old North Davis spans from G Street to the railroad tracks, and from Fifth Street to Seventh Street.

Steve Tracy, the president of the Old North Davis Neighborhood Association, said that the neighborhood is working to improve bikeability for its residents.

“For 10 years we’ve been lobbying to reduce the lane count on Fifth Street to two lanes and add bike lanes, which will be happening this summer,” Tracy said.

Old North Davis will begin to charge for parking in their neighborhood, something they haven’t done in the past. Parking passes will cost approximately $75 annually, and the revenue will be used to improve safety for bikers and neighbors.

Tracy credits the neighborhood’s high Bike Score to the amenities that are available in Old North Davis.

“All kinds of day-to-day services are available in North Davis; the Davis Co-op, restaurants, a lumber yard and more. It is the best place to live in Davis; I’ve been here for 40 years,” Tracy said.

TAYLOR CUNNINGHAM can be reached at city@theaggie.org.