Tim Hollingworth asked about Luke Anderson...Elaine responds > >I appreciate the work Luke is doing. We need people with the >commitment to take these things on, and >I will do whatever I can to help other people join in. > >I don't often talk about the work we did with respect to the >Biosafety protocol, because it sounds >alot like blowing my own horn, but I had alot of help by a number of >other people, so here goes. > >In the early days of the Biological Diversity Convention, after the >Bermuda meeting but before >Jakarta, there was a meeting in Madrid to decide if a Biosafety >Protocol was needed, especially with >respect to genetically engineered organisms. The UN had a "12 >scientist's meeting" in Cairo, which >was not attended by any worthwhile scientist at all, but by >diplomats. Scientists meeting indeed! > >The US sent a "scientist", MS only, who was clearly in the pocket of >industry. The US team, which >included people with direct connections to Monsanto as I recall, got >the report from that >"scientists" meeting to say there was no evidence of any hazards >posed by engineered organisms. >Although there were some reports of problems in the litereature, >they were disregarded because the >initial first things people were seeing were somewhat minor. Many >of the things being bandied about >were warnings, not real data (the pollen from round-up ready plants >moving into weeds, for example, >had not yet been acutally documented). The "scientists' report to >the larger meeting in Madrid was >"don't worry, be happy, no dangers here, let big business police >themselves". I was the last person >allowed to speak on the first day, and I reported on my graduate >student's (Mike Holmes) findings >with Klebsiella planticola. > >The US delegate tried to poo-poo what I reported by saying that it >was "wishful" (wishful? from what >point of view it that?) thinking that any engineered organisms would >cause any problems, it was a >pink elephant, fantasy. I pointed out that these were real data, >really dead plants, using field >soils, normal environmental conditions. By the end of the meeting, >the delegates decided that a >Biosafety Protocol was needed. We - Beth Burrows from the Edmonds >Institute who had brought me to >the meeting, Vandana Shiva, Mae Wan Ho, and several of the more >aware delegates from the meeting (who >I will not name just in case) - toasted that little step in the >right direction in the lobby later >that evening. > >But just a tiny step in the right direction. The Biosfatey Protocol >now exists, it was ratified in >Montreal last year, but it has no teeth. The world's delegates are >still wrangling on who pays for >the damage if a problem occurs. > >What's to debate? The problem wouldn't exist if some company didn't >make, advertise, sell and make >profit from the engineered organism. Excuse me, but who should pay? >Duh. But, it is the clout that >big money has in the world. When do we learn that big money should >not be allowed to sit on the >committee in any way, shape or form? They certainly can have a >chance to present their case to such >a committee, but not to determine the decision. > >Anyway, I applaud the efforts of people like Luke who continue to >educate the public. He is needed. >More like him are needed. > >Elaine Ingham >
