The engineered foods controversy hits California as protestors gather in front of a conference discussing the new advancements in the field. From the Mercury News:
Event organizers are convinced that the latest scientific breakthroughs are helping to fight hunger by developing pest-resistant crops. However, opponents say the meeting is an undemocratic forum where corporate leaders are attempting to sell their genetically modified products to developing nations.
``The real cause of hunger is poverty,'' said Raj Patel, a policy analyst with the Food First think tank in Oakland. ``Nothing that is going on in that conference will deal with that fundamental problem.''
Nearly 1,000 protesters attempted to disrupt traffic around the convention site in downtown Sacramento by marching through the streets and briefly blocking intersections. Small groups of masked demonstrators overturned dumpsters, but at times, other protesters moved them back to the sidewalk.
Grumble, mutter, grumble, mutter. Glad to see the undemocratic forum is being disrupted by those very democratic protestors.
Maybe they can hold a referendum in each developing nation, asking voters a simple question: Given the choice, would you rather (1) eat food that doesn't meet the expectations of western granola-crunchers or (2) starve. Some of the despots running these countries have actually had the gall to claim #2. My guess is that one might get a different answer if one were to ask the "we" who are actually starving, rather than the "we-by-proxy" who purport to speak for them.
Posted by: Xrlq at June 23, 2003 09:53 AM (Permalink)