From: Eugene Leitl (Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)
Date: Wed Jun 27 2001 - 10:44:03 MDT
-- Eugen* Leitl leitl
______________________________________________________________
ICBMTO : N48 10'07'' E011 33'53'' http://www.lrz.de/~ui22204
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Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2001 12:37:10 -0700
From: DS2000 <ds2000@mediaone.net>
Reply-To: isml@yahoogroups.com
To: isml <isml@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [isml] In Your Face, Out of Our Genes: the Battle of San Diego
>From The Environment News Service,
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jun2001/2001L-06-25-04.html
-
In Your Face, Out of Our Genes: the Battle of San Diego
SAN DIEGO, California, June 25, 2001 (ENS) - A day of reckoning has come for
biotechnology. As anti-biotech protesters confronted police to make their
views known in the streets outside the San Diego Convention Center, inside
Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization,
welcomed some 12,000 delegates to the annual meeting with an address
entitled "Keeping the Faith."
Carl Feldbaum (Photo courtesy Biotechnology Industry Organization)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) represents more than 950
biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers
and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other countries. BIO
members are involved in the research and development of health care,
agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.
Feldbaum addressed the critics of biotechnology who based their beliefs in
religious faith and those who are angry that genetic manipulation is morally
wrong and a usurpation of the role of God.
"Science is a method, not a faith, and the two are not mutually exclusive,"
Feldbaum said. "The technology you will be talking about this week is
astounding, and its intended uses are compassionate," said Feldbaum. But, he
acknowledged, people are not entirely grateful. "Many are suspicious. Some
are even angry."
Protest banner flies Sunday in front of the San Diego Convention Center.
(Two photos by Robert Bruni courtesy Indymedia.org)
Many of the angry ones are in the streets. Police presence was strong, but
largely unnecessary, with only eight arrests on Sunday. Hundreds of
colorfully dressed demonstrators marched and danced with signs, puppets and
songs used to call attention to issues such as biopiracy and genetically
modified food. The demonstrators called it "a celebration of life."
Feldbaum and the biotechnologists he represents see their work too as a
celebration of life as they develop techniques to do things such as transfer
cells or organs from one species to another to save human lives. They
recognize religious objections to human cloning, and go halfway towards
sharing it.
BIO is against human cloning for reproduction, said Feldbaum, but not
against the genetic modification of stem cells for therapeutic purposes. He
made it clear that the organization will lobby in Washington to win the
support of lawmakers for its views.
Two competing bills to ban the live birth of a cloned human being have been
introduced on Capitol Hill. The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001,
sponsored by Congressmen Dave Weldon, a Florida Republican, and Bart Stupak,
a Michigan Democrat, would ban all uses of "human somatic cell nuclear
transfer."
Congressman Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania (Photo courtesy Office of the
Congressman)
On the permissive side, the Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001, sponsored by
Congressmen Jim Greenwood, a Pennsylvania Republican and Peter Deutsch, a
Florida Democrat, would allow cloning techniques that produce human embryos,
but make it illegal to use those embryos to "initiate a pregnancy."
Feldbaum said today, "When Congress considers sweeping bills to ban human
cloning, we need to reach people of faith and discuss the distinction
between its reproductive and therapeutic applications - and the ethical
objections they and we have. When the president withholds money for
stem-cell research that carries such great promise in treating Parkinson's,
Alzheimer's, spinal cord damage and other grave health problems, we need to
discuss the competing moral issues as broadly as possible," he said.
On the transgenic food issue, biotechnology critics such as those in the
Organic Consumers Association say that with little or no legal restraints,
labeling requirements, or scientific protocol, biotechnologists are creating
hundreds of new genetically engineered "Frankenfoods," oblivious to human
and environmental hazards, or negative socioeconomic impacts on the world's
farmers and rural villagers.
Anti-biotech demonstrators are held back by police at the San Diego
Convention Center.
The demonstrators call their protest "biodevastation," and say that
biotechnology will not ensure food security, that distribution of food is
the problem. They object to genetically altered fish, tomatoes, wheat,
canola, corn and cotton because these foods are not natural and may cause
health and environmental problems yet unidentified.
They point to studies showing that genetically engineered foods can cause
unexpected allergic reactions, compromise immune systems, and irritate the
digestive tract. They insist that genetically altered foods should be
labeled in the United States as they now must be in a growing number of
other nations.
Feldbaum has the biotech community's answer to those concerns. He told the
faithful in San Diego today, "We will never overcome all objections and
satisfy every concern. Fear of the unknown is powerful and persistent, and
so we hear protests over biotech foods long after they are proved safe. We
can't simply dismiss people's misgivings: There's something primal in
people's relationship with their food, their bodies, and we should be
thoughtful in responding to that."
Biotechnologist Florence Wambugu of Kenya says, "Those who protest
biotechnology do so with a full belly."
Her new book, "Modifying Africa: How Biotechnology Can Benefit the Poor and
Hungry: A Case Study from Kenya," is being introduced at BIO2001. It details
her experiences as director of the International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications - African Biotechnology Program.
Wambugu says it is obvious that "biotechnology - more often than not -
represents the only lifeline of hope for most poor people in Africa." In
addition to having a major impact on poverty and hunger, biotechnology has
great potential to alleviate environmental degradation, she says.
The anti-biotech protesters in the streets may be perceived as
revolutionaries, but inside Feldbaum sees biotechnology as the true
revolution. He said today, "Our revolution is about more than science. Make
no mistake, it touches the whole earth, potentially every individual, and we
have to keep faith with global society."
-- Dan S [ISML] Insane Science Mailing List - To subscribe: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/isml Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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