The Earth Liberation Front is an international underground organization that uses direct action in the form of economic sabotage to stop the destruction of the natural environment. In North America alone since 1997, the ELF has caused over $40 million in damages to entities who profit from the destruction of life.

According to a communique received by the Earth Liberation Front Press Office, incendiary devices left in the main construction trailer and in two pieces of heavy machinery caused extensive damage where they were placed before spreading into the adjacent crop research facility.

The statement went on to say that the facility was targeted for action because "The construction of this research building is being funded by biotech giant Cargill Corporation who develop, patent, and market genetically modified crops, making people dependent on GE foods. We are fed up with capitalists like Cargill and major universities.... who have long sought to develop and refine technologies which seek to exploit and control nature to the fullest extent under the guise of progress. "

A growing movement has erupted internationally against genetically modified organisms (GMO's) including genetically altered food. Contrary to claims surfacing from some of the scientific community, genetically modified plants are not the answer to the world's food shortage. Crops which have been genetically altered promote further pesticide use in larger doses which only end up in the food chain and leaking into the environment. Genetically modified organisms exist for one reason, the drive for profit by large multinational corporations.

This action undertaken by the ELF is just one of a long series of actions and protests taken against the biotechnology industry as a whole over the past few years. The University of Minnesota's genetic engineering research was targeted by the ELF in February, 2000 when activists destroyed transgenic oat research crops and damaged a greenhouse.

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