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Resource Pointer #296 (Genetically Engineered Food)
October 18, 2002

For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly.

*National GEAN Conference* November 15-17, 2002. The Galt House, Louisville, KY. Organized by Genetic Engineering Action Network-USA and Kentucky’s Community Farm Alliance. Information sessions include history of the agrarian movement, genetic engineering beyond farm crops, university/industrial complex and patents and legal issues. Activist skills workshops cover strategic non-violent actions, media work and researching field trials. Guest speakers include Wendell Berry and Lawrence Goodwyn. Register by November 1, 2002. US$30 for one day, US$50 for two. Contact GEAN, 11 Ward Street, Suite 200, Somerville, MA 02143; phone (617) 661-6626; fax (617) 354-6992; email ge_action@yahoo.com; Web site http://www.geaction.org.

*Growing a GE-Free Northeast: Education, Strategy and Action Against Genetic Engineering* November 1-3, 2002. Hampshire College, Amherst, MA. Workshop topics include the science of genetic engineering (GE), the politics of food and the globalization of GE foods. Guest speakers include Barry Commoner, Chaia Heller, Theresa Podell and Brian Tokar. Will also include strategy sessions, skillshare workshops, discussion groups and presentations from the Liberty Cabbage Theatre Revival and singer/songwriter David Rovics. Register at http://www.nerage.org/pages.php?node=02/10/03/4970806. Contact Institute for Social Ecology, Biotechnology Project; phone (802) 454-7138; email info@nerage.org; Web site http://www.nerage.org.

*People Street Conference: Against the Annual General Meeting of the Consultive Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in the Philippines* October 27-November 1, 2002. Manila, Philippines. Hosted by La Via Campesina-Southeast Asia. International gathering of farmer coalitions and social justice groups to address the harmful effects of CGIAR system on agriculture and food sovereignty. Includes panel presentations, street exhibitions and displays, media and participant workshops and one day of mass action. Contact Resist Agrochemical TNCs, c/o Peasant Movement of the Philippines; phone (63-2) 922-0977; email kmp@quickweb.com.ph.

*First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Food* 2001. Belinda Martineau. Chronicles story of the Flavr Savr ™ tomato, from conception and technical development to market introduction and market disappearance. Discusses the corporate decision-making process of biotech start-up companies and the (non)effectiveness of the US food regulatory system. 224 pages. US$15.95. Contact McGraw-Hill Company, PO Box 182604, Columbus, OH 43272; phone (800) 262-4729; fax (614) 759-3644; email pbg.ecommerce_custserv@mcgraw-hill.com; Web site http://www.books.mcgraw-hill.com/.

*Engineering the Farm: Ethical and Social Aspects of Agricultural Biotechnology, 2002* Britt Bailey and Marc Lappe, eds. A collection of essays by agricultural experts and policy analysts. Topics include history of the anti-biotechnology movement, patents and labeling, ethics of genetic engineering (GE), the role of the “precautionary principle,” and potential health effects. Encourages consideration of global, moral, cultural and ecological impacts of GE food and calls for further safety testing. 202 pages. US$25. Contact Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20009-1148; phone (202) 232-7933; fax (202) 234-1328; email ecoxe@islandpress.org; Web site http://www.islandpress.org/.

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