Party: Respondent Deponent: Jill Bee Sworn: July 1999 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE 1998-M-No1180 QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION BETWEEN MONSANTO PLC Claimant -and- (1) ROWAN TILLY (2) JO HAMILTON (3) KATHERYN TULIP (4) MELANIE JARMAN (5) ZOE ELFORD (6) ANDREW WOOD (sued on their own behalf and on behalf of all other members or representatives of "GenetiX Snowball", an unincorporated association) Defendants -and- JILL BEE Respondent I, JILL BEE, of 14, Whiteway, Letchworth, HERTS, MAKE OATH AND SAY AS FOLLOWS:- 1 I am a Respondent in this application for committal for contempt of court in respect of an Order for an Injunction made in this action by the Honourable Mr Justice Klevan on 20th April 1999. The facts and matters to which I depose herein are within my own knowledge (except as stated or appears to the contrary). The facts stated in this Affidavit are true. 2. I am Jill Bee of 14, Whiteway, Letchwoth, HERTS. I am 52 years of age, married with two children in higher and further education. I work full-time as a technician and assistant teacher in the Art and CDT departments in an all age independent boarding school where my husband works. 3. Genes are the inherited blueprints for the thousands of proteins, the DNA, that form the building blocks of all life on earth. Genetic engineering is the taking of a gene from one species and inserting it into another, which is imprecise and unpredictable. The Government's own Genetic Modification Regulations admit that GM bears no resemblance to traditional breeding techniques and defines it as 'the altering of the genetic material in that organism in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination or both.' 4. During the past year I have become very concerned about the effects of GMO's in the environment and have tried to learn as much as possible about it. I feel that you may agree that I have reason to be very worried from a few of the articles I have read. These include - GM-FREE, vol. 1, no:2 June/July 1999 - (p2,3,17), DISEASE OUTBREAKS: IS THERE A GM LINK? based on information from Dr Mae-wan Ho and Angela Pym of the Open University. (p4,5,6) THE GREAT GRAIN ROBBERY - an interview with ALAN SIMPSON, Labour MP for Nottingham South. (p15) GM CROPS WILL CREATE FAMINE, SAYS CHRISTIAN AID - John Vidal, The Guardian. (p15) GM CONTAMINATION COULD SOUND DEATH KNELL FOR ORGANIC FARMING -Norfolk Genetic Information network.. . 5. I am also a member of the Soil Association and receive their magazine called 'Living Earth'. In vol. No:202, April/June 1999 there is an article - (p7) BLOWING IN THE WIND - about a report commissioned by the Soil Association - 'The dispersal of maize pollen' - by Dr Jean Emberlin, Director of the National Pollen Research Unit. 6. I believe the information in these publications is truthful and reliable and I respect their evidence and concern. I feel that if we do not act soon in a positive and effective way to prevent irretrievable damage to our environment it will be too late and none of us will have a choice. 7. Here is my account of the events leading up to and including those at Cereals 99 on 16th June 1999, where I symbolically removed ten GM sugar beet plants ('the action'). 8. I felt I needed to know more about the campaign against GM crops and wanted to find out if there was anything positive I personally could do, I believe we are all responsible for our world. During April (Sat 10th) I joined a march from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square where interesting and knowledgeable speakers gave their views on the dangers of GMO's including Dr Mae-wan Ho who impressed me greatly. At the end of the meeting we were told we could learn more about a campaigning group called genetiXsnowball if we left our names and addresses. I did and later received some information through the post. I wanted a handbook but never in fact received one. 9 Two days before the action against Monsanto (14th June) I received a telephone call from Martin Shaw asking if I would like to join, in some capacity, in an action they were going to do on the 16th. I asked my husband whether he minded if I did this and he was very willing to support me. So then I asked my deputy head at school for permission to take time off on the Wednesday. She agreed that I could have the time off. I didn't know at this stage that I would be pulling up crops and never suspected my involvement might put me in breach of an injunction. .... 10 I met Martin, for the first time, on the evening of the 15th June where Martin gave me a handbook (as I hadn't received one yet). We talked about how this was a non-violent action against Monsanto and that I would pull 10 GM plants up as a symbolic protest. 11 During the discussion Martin said he thought there may be an injunction against some people but that he didn't think it affected us. He didn't pressurise me into doing the action, I decided of my own free will and was willing to take the consequences for my own actions. He did say that there was a possibility that we may be arrested on the day for pulling up the crop. 12 We went to Cereals 99 at about 10 am on 16th June. I had not had time to read the handbook. We bought tickets and went in, we looked for the site and then found somewhere to put on our protective clothing, which we did quickly. We walked straight to the sugar beet and I started to pull up approx. 10 plants. 13 I was asked, very urgently but kindly and politely, to stop by a woman, who I presumed was from the Monsanto stand. I didn't reply but pulled up my ten plants and put them in a black polythene bag and then removed my overalls as I had been told to do (part of genetiXsnowball's responsible action of decontaminating the environment) and put them in the bag too. I left the bag on the site. 14 I then helped the others distribute leaflets which we did for quite a long time before we were escorted away from the site by security men. At the entrance a policeman asked for our names and addresses which we gave voluntarily and honestly and then we were taken by jeep to the car park. 15 When I went to the site I had no idea that there was an injunction whose terms could be said to apply to me. 16 I went there to make a symbolic, accountable, non-violent protest against Monsanto and GM crops. 17 .If the terms of the injunction had clearly meant that people doing anything with genetiXsnowball would be covered by the injunction then this action would not have taken place, and I would not have been invited to take part. The people I have got to know since in genetiXsnowball are kind and gentle, caring people who don't want to see our world endangered. They are hard working and dedicated and I am proud to be associated with them. 18 I am not normally a person who would demonstrate as I have spent the last 23 years of my life working very hard to bring up my children and give them a good start in life. They are presently in further education so my husband and I have a considerable financial burden now and certainly until we retire. I have also got a job I love, as a technician and Art teacher, for which I have worked extremely hard over the last fourteen years. I think I am trusted and considered to be honest and law abiding. I did not have any intention of jeopardising my children, my husband or my job, or of breaking a ruling of the court. 19 I still feel very strongly that GMO's are potentially very dangerous and I take full responsibility for my action of symbolically pulling up ten plants.. SWORN at This 28th day of July 1999 Before me