[157] in peace2
Biodev 2000
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aimee L Smith)
Mon Mar 27 19:03:28 2000
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 19:06:29 -0500 (EST)
From: Aimee L Smith <alsmith@photonics.mit.edu>
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From Abhraka@aol.com Mon Mar 27 14:24:13 2000
From: <Abhraka@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 14:19:39 EST
Subject: Biodev 2000
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I was really thrilled by the BIODEV2000 conference and I feel blessed to now
feel so much more well informed on this urgent issue.
So, it turns out that I work at the Park Plaza Hotel, where a lot of the
Bio2000 conference participants are staying. Yesterday, the day of our
protest, I was working in the lobby bar and overheard some of the things that
the people wearing badges were saying about the protests. Several times I
heard them remarking in suprise on the number of people that were there, (yay
us!) and they were also talking about the costumes. I heard one guy say to
the bartender "the music was actually really good, and there were all these
people dancing on top of a bus from Vermont." The bartender asked him what
the protesters were protesting exactly, and the guy said, "oh, they're
worried about cloning people, but that's really not an issue. There might
be a few companies that would do that, but that can't really happen." (Think
again, mr. biotech!) I heard four of them discussing the protests and they
said, "I guess they were protesting genetically engineered food. Well what
does that have to do with Biotech?" And they all shrugged their shoulders and
said, "I don't know." (Well, it's all really the same thing, isn't it?
Aren't we concerned about any issues having to do with the manipulation of
our gene pool as living beings?) I was talking to one guy directly and I
asked him what the conference was really all about, since he said it didn't
have much to do with the genetic engineering of food, and he said, "It's all
just making deals." Let it be known too that these people have tons of
money. They were buying the most expensive champagne, schmoozing, etc.
Well, I actually got my hands on one of the programs for the conference, and
here are some of the titles for the speeches, workshops and symposiums:
Leveraging Communications During Financial Transactions: How Strategic
Communications and Public Relations Can Help in Closing the Deal
Let's Make a Deal!
Accelerated Approval, Challenges and Rewards: FDA's Perspective on
Accelerated Approval
Biotechnology: Framework for a Sustainable Future: The Potential of a
Biorefinery
New Trees Grow Closer; The Ecological, Ethical and Scientific Issues of
Forest Biotechnology (no new trees please!)
Industrial Biotech Model, is there One That Works? (industrial biotech
doesn't work for us!)
Chemical Giants Impact Biotechnology:
Plastic from Corn-derived Lactic Acid (speech by VP of technology of
Cargill Dow Polymers)
Gene Switching
Biotechnology as an Aid in New Business Development at Dow
The Consumer Market for Value-Added Biotech Foods
"It's a complicated world, but someone's got to feed it. Shoppers have a
lot to think about as they choose foods for their families. What are
consumer priorities? As foods with better nutrition, taste and variety come
to market, how will the role and acceptance of biotechnology fare? What are
the implications for providing meaningful consumer information and education
around the world?" (I don't want to eat off your plate!)
Bright Consumers Clean with Biotechnology Products (bright and shiny people!)
Youthfulness Through New Product innovations (we'll be able to live forever!)
Environmental Regulation of Agricultural Biotechnology: Emerging Trends in
the United States and Around the Globe
EPA and FDA Regulations and Self-Regulations (Speaker from Novartis
Seeds)
Regulatory and Litigation Developments
Maximizing Profits Through Intelligent Planning-What Every Pharmaceutical
Executive Needs to Know about Intellectual Property
Developments and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and
the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office (speech from Associate Solicitor, U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office)
Building a Winning Patent Portfolio: Strategic Considerations
Litigation: Avoiding and, If Necessary, Winning
Seeking and Avoiding Patent Interferences
Interference Law and Procedure; Licensing and Settlement
Improving Profitability: Presenting Intellectual Property to Strategic
Partners and Venture Capitalists
The Whitehead Forum: Policy and Progress in Biotechnology
"The speakers will explore how public perceptions of the biotechnology
industry will affect government policies and the adoption of new products.
Recent events in Europe and the U.S. have shown that the public's fascination
with new technologies can quickly turn to fear and misunderstanding. After
the opening talks, speakers will lead an interactive discussion exploring how
corporate leaders and scientists can help resolve the fears, enhance public
understanding of science and maximize the benefits of new technologies for
all concerned." (I think we understand perfectly!)
The Road to $100 Billion
Beyond Approval
Obtaining regulatory approval to market a biotech product is not the end
of the road but the start of a long process to sell the product worldwide.
This session will capitalize on the experience of companies with biotech
products on the market for several years.
Biotechnology Developments from USDA - ARS Laboratories
And here's my favorite:
Consolidation: Catching the Wave
Selling the Farm to Big Pharma
It seems pretty clear that the goal of BIOTECH mainly is to keep the machine
of globalization growing with power, money, and merges. It's all about
deals, making deals, making itself bigger and bigger, more and more powerful
and influential. It's going to be an uphill battle against the corporate
machine, especially when they have government officials on their side. (Some
of the featured speakers at the convention are people from the FDA and the
U.S. Patent office and the USDA.) The more these machine people exert
control the more they medicate their fears. Freedom, expression, nature,
the wild of the wilderness - these are the fears of the machine. The machine
fears the unknown. Nature in all of it's beauty and unpredictability is
intolerable to this machine. The machine must be in control, it must be
supreme, it must be the only thing that understands life and must be the
ultimate authority. The machine must conquer the world of the unknown in
order to sustain itself As long as the machine keeps finding ways to make
things new and to make new things that it created and owns then it is
securely in power. It must convince or force people to believe that the
machine improves on what exists and if people believe this there is no need
for the unknown. Then its fear will go away. The machine will force its
will on the world and nothing will be powerful enough to stop it.
We must say NO to the machine! Make the machine very afraid! Express
yourself! Don't be afraid of not being "normal"! Being normal is having the
disease! We are not machines and we won't let our planet be turned into a
machine that uses the sacred life of our earth as its fuel!
If you like this e-mail send it along.
Much love to my brothers and sisters at the biodev 2000 gathering.
love from a newly-made-aware activist
Alissa Ferranto
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