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Protest erupts at BIO meet
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March 26, 2000: 8:06 p.m. ET
Genetically modified foods bring demonstrators to biotech conclave
By Staff Writer Martha Slud
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BOSTON (CNNfn) - - Chanting "Life is not for sale" and "Label it now," several thousand activists who oppose genetically altered crops protested Sunday outside a convention center where about 7,000 biotech industry executives, scientists and investors are gathering.
The demonstration in Boston's Back Bay district was peaceful, with no arrests or injuries reported by police. The protesters, many of whom dressed as giant ears of corn or as Frankenstein-like creatures, assembled outside the city's Hynes Convention Center, where the BIO 2000 meeting was getting under way. The gathering, which runs through Thursday, is organized by the Washington-based Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Sales of genetically altered food have soared in recent years. But the backlash from opponents has been fierce, especially in Europe. Critics say genetically altered crops may pose health hazards and that products containing modified ingredients should be labeled.
"The whole point of this is to say that we need more information about what's going in our food," said activist Moe Garahan, 29, of Ottawa, Canada.
"We should have access to this information, not just the people in that building," she said, gesturing toward the convention center, where conference participants peered out of second-story windows watching the protests.
Many of the activists had attended a counter-gathering over the past several days dubbed BioDevastation 2000 at nearby Northeastern University.
Industry officials said the protesters are ignorant about the science behind biotechnology and that genetically modified crops can help feed poor people in developing countries where crops are destroyed by disease and insects.
Officials said that after last year's violent demonstrations at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, they had been expecting protests at the Boston gathering. Police also said they were braced for the demonstration.
"These are people who are anti-globalization, anti-trade and anti-technology," said Michael Phillips, executive director for food and agriculture at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the conference sponsor. "If they have their way, we would all go back to the cave and forage for food with a spear. That's what we're dealing with here."
He said biologically altered food must undergo stringent testing by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Activists at the protest carried placards reading "Biotech = Mutant Greed" or "Mother Earth, not Big Brother Monsanto," a reference to Monsanto Co. (MTC: Research, Estimates), the St. Louis-based drug and agricultural products maker that produces genetically altered products such as modified soybeans.
One protester said he hoped the demonstration would send a message to corporations involved in genetic engineering.
"These are people who make their living selling this food to people," said Rich Mackin, 28, of Boston, who handed out stickers reading "Don't fear technology: Fear those who control it." "If people are upset with what you're doing, you'll either have to stop doing it, find another way to do it or risk losing your business," he said.
The BIO 2000 meeting will include forums on genetically altered food, as well as symposia on genomics - the study of the function and structure of human genes - and the economics of the biotech industry. Participants will include Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, Genentech (DNA: Research, Estimates) co-founder Herbert Boyer, Fidelity vice chairman Peter Lynch and actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed five years ago during an equestrian competition. 
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