This article reflects what a broad church opposition to GM is.
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Biotechnology 2006: there could be a fly in the ointment in Chicago
By Martin Daly
The Age, April 11, 2006 http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/biotechnology-2006-there-could-be-a-fly-in-the-ointment-in-chicago/2006/04/10/1144521269610.html
IT WAS never going to be easy to find Seth Brundle. Chicago is a big city, with almost 3 million people. Twenty-thousand more arrived this week from every state in the US and from 60 countries and, critics suggest, they could be unknowingly harbouring the notorious Brundle, or worse, an army of his clones.
Brundle is the mad scientist known for his pursuit of teleportation technology in David Cronenberg's 1986 movie, The Fly, in which things go dreadfully wrong when he drunkenly fuses his DNA with that of a fly, creating the hideous Brundlefly, and a chilling warning from those who fear the unknown of biotechnology that there are grave dangers in messing with DNA.
The reason Brundle's name crops up here in a passing, but nevertheless serious fashion, is that the delegates are in Chicago for the world's largest biotechnology conference. It is Biotechnology 2006, and there's a lot of talk about how successfully science can now clone or genetically alter everything from grains to animals, as well as find cures for the most crippling illnesses and hideous diseases, while feeding the developing world with genetically modified crops. It's also a bit of fun for some to speculate whether there are any Brundle-like characters seeking support from any venture capitalists in search of a deal.
This is an annual industry forum that will be addressed by former US president Bill Clinton. It is a forum credited with dramatically altering the direction of global biotechnology every time it meets, largely because of its ability to blend cash-strapped innovators and those with money or resources to invest.
The event showcases groundbreaking developments and research. It presents such potentially lucrative contract possibilities that political leaders from around the world — including Victoria's Premier Steve Bracks and Innovation Minister John Brumby — are in town to promote the state as a bio hub, trying to capture a slice of the biotech wonder, generally thought to be one of the most significant industries of the future.
"Bio is the most important biotech conference in the world," says Mr Brumby. "We have to be at Bio to showcase our capabilities and commercial potential while all the world is watching.
"Deals are done here, for example Victorian company ACRUX concluded a $10 million deal with Eli Lily two years ago after their initial meeting at Bio 2002."
There are several sides to Bio 2006. It is about power, money, and politics and about innovation across many spheres, including science, technology, medicine and agriculture.
Eleven-thousand one-on-one individual meetings will be scheduled by computers during the four-day conference to advance research and development agendas that participants often promote as crucial for mankind and important to their local economies.
Another side of Bio 2006 is reflected by the recent headline — "Mamma don't let your kids grow up to be mutants". This is the protest side of the annual Bio conference that has had a launch at the Funky Buddha Lounge in Chicago, has the support of Buddhists for Bioethics and gets together for music sessions by the Hen House Prowlers, and screens movies with titles such as The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
But this is also a serious and effective movement of concerned citizens, mums and dads, scientists, legislators, lawyers and doctors, who might not have stopped a deal being done at a Bio, but nevertheless play a crucial role in shaping public opinion on the biotechnology industry.
This protest side cautions against genetic engineering largely, they say, because so little is know about its downsides. They condemn the industry for being so secret about what it is doing and for so bitterly fighting a demand that it put labels on genetically modified foods. The result, they say, is that parents don't know whether they're feeding their children genetically modified foods or food grown with the aid of hormones.
But this year in Chicago, the protest movement has been transformed. It formed Bioethics, an American Mid-West umbrella organisation that, according to journalist and former Bioethics worker Charles Shaw, first took on the extremists in its own ranks and replaced them with a more reflective and spiritual leadership.
With 500 journalists in town from 30 countries, it didn't want a repeat of the Bio in Philadelphia last year where the protest movement demonstrated and got bad press when a police officer on the streets died from a heart attack. "The media loves a kid in a bandanna," says Shaw, who says he was a lead player in sidelining the more extreme element of the local Bio protest movement.
Bioethics, according to Shaw, separated from the groups that also used the annual Bio gathering to protest against racism and sexism and demonstrate outside the conference centre. And that, says Shaw, is a waste of time and energy at Bio.
The movement this year has decided to stay "on-message" about the secrecy of many genetically modified and growth hormone products that have made their way into the food chain without any regard for, or consultation with, the people who eat the food, and don't know what they are consuming.
Bioethics also preaches that biotechnology can be good for the world, but the industry must be transparent. It says the dangers of cloning and the genetic modification of organisms should be made known to everyone in the US, where 85 per cent of the population, according to Shaw, don't know anything about biotechnology.
"Most biotechnology has the potential to be great, curing illnesses, replacing fossil fuels," Shaw says. "We are not saying it is all bad. But when you muck around with food and you don't tell people about it, it is dangerous."
Eleven-thousand one-on-one individual meetings will be scheduled by computers during the four-day conference to advance research and development agendas that participants often promote as crucial for mankind and important to their local economies.
Another side of Bio 2006 is reflected by the recent headline — "Mamma don't let your kids grow up to be mutants". This is the protest side of the annual Bio conference that has had a launch at the Funky Buddha Lounge in Chicago, has the support of Buddhists for Bioethics and gets together for music sessions by the Hen House Prowlers, and screens movies with titles such as The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
But this is also a serious and effective movement of concerned citizens, mums and dads, scientists, legislators, lawyers and doctors, who might not have stopped a deal being done at a Bio, but nevertheless play a crucial role in shaping public opinion on the biotechnology industry.
This protest side cautions against genetic engineering largely, they say, because so little is know about its downsides. They condemn the industry for being so secret about what it is doing and for so bitterly fighting a demand that it put labels on genetically modified foods. The result, they say, is that parents don't know whether they're feeding their children genetically modified foods or food grown with the aid of hormones.
But this year in Chicago, the protest movement has been transformed. It formed Bioethics, an American Mid-West umbrella organisation that, according to journalist and former Bioethics worker Charles Shaw, first took on the extremists in its own ranks and replaced them with a more reflective and spiritual leadership.
With 500 journalists in town from 30 countries, it didn't want a repeat of the Bio in Philadelphia last year where the protest movement demonstrated and got bad press when a police officer on the streets died from a heart attack. "The media loves a kid in a bandanna," says Shaw, who says he was a lead player in sidelining the more extreme element of the local Bio protest movement.
Bioethics, according to Shaw, separated from the groups that also used the annual Bio gathering to protest against racism and sexism and demonstrate outside the conference centre. And that, says Shaw, is a waste of time and energy at Bio.
The movement this year has decided to stay "on-message" about the secrecy of many genetically modified and growth hormone products that have made their way into the food chain without any regard for, or consultation with, the people who eat the food, and don't know what they are consuming.
Bioethics also preaches that biotechnology can be good for the world, but the industry must be transparent. It says the dangers of cloning and the genetic modification of organisms should be made known to everyone in the US, where 85 per cent of the population, according to Shaw, don't know anything about biotechnology.
"Most biotechnology has the potential to be great, curing illnesses, replacing fossil fuels," Shaw says. "We are not saying it is all bad. But when you muck around with food and you don't tell people about it, it is dangerous."
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More information:
http://www.bioethics2006.org/
http://reclaimthecommons.net/
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