Second Day of Action: Seminis Inc. Espionage and More Flyer Distribution.

A man on a mission.

        I wanted to get an up close and personal look at Seminis Inc. so I know what to expect on the day of the protest. One may use the word espionage if they so desire it as I yes, did a sort of covert mission to gain access into their facility. I first arrived on Brunken Ave. and made my way up to the front of the office. Looking around from the outside I saw a "No Trespassing" sign and a "No weapons permitted" sign on the window and I thought - they certainly are ready for a return of rowdy activists. I looked inside and realized the place was totally desolate but I continued and pushed the door open. No one heard me come in. I looked around: just a low lite room with two smaller rooms connected, a table with some oranges in a bowl, bookshelves with ceramic statues of lettuce and corn displayed on top. Then I shouted "hello?" Some guy wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie and fumbled out of the room on the right and replied "yeah hey what's up?"
"I'm a college student and I came over here because I had some questions about Seminis; like what kind of jobs you guys have to offer and how I may apply."
"Oh yeah well we got a few jobs right now. You should check us out online, there's more information there. We're just a satellite location and subsidiary of Monsanto, I don't have too much information here."
"Sure I'll check it out. So do you guys do work on lettuce around here?"
"Yep, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, sugar beets."
"Oh nice for better resistance to spraying?"
"Yeah tolerance, we are also just working on making better varieties." The guy was friendly all and all. Though I'm sure if he knew my position on Monsanto he would have been much more aggressive. After a short conversation I said goodbye and that I'd look for more information online and walked out.
                  It was beneficial that I spoke to that Seminis employee. I didn't know lettuce was being genetically modified right here in our county and communities. It made me realize that this issue really does hit home. We aren't talking about GMO corn from the middle of nowhere in Nebraska, we're talking about the lettuce right off of highway 68. It's personal now and we can't just stand around and allow them to modify our county.

               While I was still in Salinas I took the opportunity to distribute more fliers. I went to Rollicks Coffee shop, Oldtown Booknook, and Cherry bean; very friendly and helpful people. They are places that remind you why Salinas is a wonderful little town. They are like little pockets of culture in a very industrial town.


First Day of Action: Flyer Distribution. (Adventures in Activism)

The Flyer! I stole the template and added my own
words. If I knew who did the original art I'd give
them credit but I don't so sorry about it!

                     I recently found out that there is a "Really Really Free Market" in Monterey where people go to Fisherman's Wharf and bring things out they wish to give away for free. It reminds me of the Diggers and Yippies of the 60's with their free stores. It's inspiring. Suddenly I thought hey, this could be a great place to outreach for Occupy Monsanto of Monterey!  And so I went to it after I printed 100 fliers from FedEx. The market was quaint with old magazines, books by Karl Jaspers and other existentialists, Christmas decorations, board games, clothing and a various assortment of goods. The crowd was more vibrant than I was expecting; a British woman was attempting to pay and I confirmed to her "no no it's free", people were really responsive and appreciative to the effort. It was gratifying just being there.
                            Getting the chance to connect with the people who organized the event made it even more worth while. They are some of the most influential activists in town. One of the guys I spoke to is organizing a coalition of organizations such like Occupy Monterey and Solidarity Monterey to battle fracking in the county. Another woman, who happen to be part of Occupy Monterey, wants to organize a protest at Whole Foods on Earth Day in response to their recent decision that removed the recycling facility behind the store. She also told me about a rally against drone warfare at Windows by the Bay that will be happening soon. I learned a lot in the hour I spent there and felt like I really connected with the community. All the while I was passing out the fliers and asking people "Do you want to help take back our food system from Monsanto?" It's certainly a unique event and something I'll be returning to in the near future.
                           I shook everyone's hand and said goodbye, got into my car blaring Rage Against the Machine and The Smashing Pumpkins and took off to spread more fliers. First Caffe Trieste, Plumes, the Osio Theatre, Old Capital Books, and then Whole Foods. At each place I felt obligated to make a purchase since I was using their space. As a result I was hopped up on caffeine and acquiring several gifts for myself. Though I have to say, today went totally smoothly. It seemed everyone was totally supportive of OMM. I noticed other people inquiring about fliers as well, it was almost like "ask-your-local-business-for-exposure day" or something. One guy, in Plumes, standing in front of me was talking to the owner about his band flier and he asked "What if we put a disco ball in here where the light is?" to which the owner replied "What you want this to be a club in a coffee shop?" How this conversation came up is a mystery to me but it was rather interesting to eavesdrop into.
                         After tacking several fliers onto wood-chip bulletin boards in the coffee places, I decided to take a shot at Old Capitol Books. I was pleasantly greeted and they approved my request to leave a stack of fliers. I first looked around for a small purchase to make and found a book that I've been meaning to read. It's not in my top list of books but still something I've been curious about and it was only $5. It's called "The Overspent American" and it will probably give me some good arguments against consumerism. After I bought it, I casually made my inquire to the young lady at the register with the typical "Oh you know, while I'm here do you think I can leave some fliers with you?" She was stoked and agreed to take them if I took her flier and explained that she was doing a seminar on Marx at the book store on Wednesday April 17 at 6:30PM until 8PM. I told her that I was practically a Socialist so that's right up my alley. Then I left with a book in one hand, a flier in another and then continued around town.

                         

               As I reflect on the people I met, I realized just how vivacious the progressive community in Monterey is. It's a small place compared to San Fransisco or L.A but don't let that fool you, there's a lot going on here. There are people with ideas and talent making their way through this place each and every day waiting for the moment to strike something real and to leave a permanent mark on the place they call home.

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