Deep thanks to all of you for making BioETHICS 2006 The Voice of Reason possible, and successful.
Though not attended in the thousands, BioETHICS has taken a strong root, and our interaction through the media and directly with BIO showed that we will continue to win ground regarding setting the record straight, getting safety testing, labeling, congressional hearings into drift, and a ban on any new GMO food and/or crops.
We need a sustainable, equitable food/environment. GMOs are part of the larger problem of economies of scarcity, and a misguided and some might say, psychotic corporate “mind,” the impending reality of Peak Oil, the ethics and morality of patenting life and owning the air and water, and any other part of this earth, and/or our bodies, the toxic load of chemicals on our bodies, electromagnetic radiation, in short: a deep amnesia of the sacredness of life. We are in the process of remembering this to ourselves and the world. The faster the better. Thank you all for your work in this regard.
With your inspiration, ideas, and creativity, BioETHICS will again happen next year, and will be even more successful ... running concurrently with something we’ll keep you closely posted on: a proposed BioREALITY Tour/Conference in Washington D.C. More details will be available in the next few months.
As the first every Midwest based conference on the ethical implications of genetically engineered foods and crops, BioETHIICS 2006 ‘The Voice of Reason’ successfully organized four days of action based forums, workshops and panel discussions. Open to the public and at no charge for most events, this conference was supported by an unprecedented broad range of consumer and farmer advocacy and organizing groups and organizations, including The Illinois Farmers Union, the Iowa Farmers Union, Angelic Organics CSA and Learning Center, The Illinois Farmer Consumer Coalition, Family Farm Defenders, The National Family Farm Coalition, The American Corn Growers Association, The Columbia College Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences, GeneWise, The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods, Conscious Choice magazine, For Her Information, Chicago! magazine, The Organic Food Network, Mark Klemen of The Funky Buddha Lounge, Charlie Trotter’s, Chef Michael Altenberg of Bistro Campaigne, Chef John Fuente of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, Greg Christian of GoGo Organics, Fats Catering, Anna Lappe, Dr. Cass Ingram of North American Herb and Spice, Growing Power, Dr. Sam S. Epstein and The Cancer Prevention Coalition, Chef Paul Kahan of Blackbird Restaurant, Liberty Family Farm, Sustain, The Rogers Park NeighborFood Council, and many more.
The conference received strong press interest by numerous and varied media, including The Monthly Aspectarian magazine, Chicago Social, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, The Rockford Register Star, The NO-GMO Report, ACRES USA, For Her Information, Chicago! magazine, Fox TV news, Lerner Press, Metromix TV, National Public Radio, Organic Lifestyles Magazine, Pioneer Press and the Toronto Star.
“The main working groups which BioETHICS 2006 have developed now have momentum and action plans, highlighting: removing GMO food and rBGH milk and hormonal meat from school lunch programs, anti-pre-emption legislation and GMO-free zones, farmer issues, and consumer and public health issues,” noted Christine Phillips, Co-Coordinator, BioETHICS 2006.
This is the first year that the Biotechnology Industry Organization has issued a special color brochure statement of ethical principles in which they specifically state that they welcome open public dialogue with all members of the public. An invitation to speak on the BioETHICS panel was declined, however, by their ethics department this year.
For more information on these issues, visit www.bioethics2006.org.
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