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Protests Ready for BIO Conference 


By Kristen Philipkoski  |   Also by this reporter Page 1 of 1

09:20 AM Jun. 04, 2004 PT

Approximately 18,000 bio-philes will descend Sunday on San Francisco for the biggest biology fete in the world. And it wouldn't be a Bay Area party worth talking about without protesters.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual meeting will take place from June 6-9 in the place where the industry was born 28 years ago with the launch of Genentech. Protesters say they're marking the occasion with demonstrations against issues ranging from genetically modified crops to the war in Iraq. What does the war have to do with BIO? Apparently nothing much, but the G8 Summit happens be in Sea Island, Georgia at nearly the same time, so Bay Area activists will save themselves the trip and hang out at BIO, since it's handy.

"Maybe we could have been the wallpaper hangers association," said Dan Eramian, vice president of communications for BIO. "But it's here in San Francisco. There's an active activist grassroots community here and they're very vocal."

G8 and BIO 2004 do have something in common, however, according to a representative from the group organizing the protests, Reclaim the Commons: Both promote the concentration of power in the hands of large corporations, he said. The group is speaking out, among other things, against patenting genes in both plants and humans.

"The centralization of power that allows for the commoditization of life is the same thing that allows human beings to become cannon fodder in Iraq," said Christopher Pease.

Pease said the organization plans to completely shut down the conference with protests starting on Tuesday by blocking entrances to the Moscone Center. He said he expects several thousand protestors but declined to offer a more specific number.

He said Reclaim the Commons organizers are training activists to keep demonstrations peaceful. The organization is holding a weeklong event offering educational sessions on genetically modified crops and other issues.

The group worries that genetically modified crops, including those engineered to contain pharmaceuticals, will contaminate organic and conventional crops, decrease biodiversity and give corporations control over the world's food supply. Eramian said fewer than 5 percent of researchers and company representatives attending the meeting work on genetically altered plants. The other 95 percent are trying to find treatments and diagnostic tools for fighting diseases.

But Pease said it's all part of the same problem. Biotech's agricultural practices are directly related to his groups complaints about the industry's approach to treating human health.

"They're saying they want to find a cure for the global food shortage and saying biotech can increase crop yields that are resistant to disease and pests," Pease said. "The seeds have been manipulated to be resistant to the company's own herbicide. That means they continue to use these pesticides which (has been linked to) cancer. Then they're saying they want to manufacture certain drugs to treat cancer."

Eramian is counting on the San Francisco Police Department, which has seen a protest or two in its day, to handle the protests appropriately. Activist gatherings at previous meetings have been small and peaceful. The police department did not return phone calls.

"Trying to shut us down is like shutting down a medical research lab," Eramian said. "It doesn't make any sense to me."

Eramian also pointed out that while a handful of larger company representatives from giants like Genentech and Amgen will attend, the vast majority of the 811 registered companies are fledgling operations with fewer than 75 employees.

The website also said the group plans to disrupt the various "after-hour schmooze-fests" surrounding the BIO event, which include a sushi dinner at Harry Denton's Starlight Room, several bay cruises and a '60s-themed "drug discovery" party.

Sessions during the meeting will focus on disparate topics, from the Kangaroo Genome Project to a round table on the Florida biotech industry hosted by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Representatives from almost every state will have booths on the exhibition floor, hoping to convince attendees that their state is the most fantastic place for biotech in the union.

Presenters will range from science nerds to superstars. Paul Berg, a Stanford University professor, will talk about stem-cell research and therapeutic cloning. Brooke Shields will address the meeting during lunch Wednesday to talk about fertility therapy, and soul songstress Patti LaBelle will discuss diabetes.

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