Biodevastation conference fights corporate science, promotes anti- science message Activists in Boston hosted Biodevastation 2000 March 24-26, a counter-conference protesting the Bio2000 convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. The counter-conference ended with a protest march attended by about 4,000 people. MIM and RAIL attended parts of the conference as well as the march to talk to people about revolutionary environmentalism and learn more about the anti-biotechnology movement. Although many of the participants were very progressive and politically open minded, and the literature produced by the movement is anti-capitalist in many ways, the protest in Boston overall was politically unfocused and put forward an unclear anti-technology message that was little more than sloganeering against biotechnology. Progressive anti-corporate demands One underlying theme at the counter conference was a protest against the commodification of life. This analysis lends itself to an understanding of capitalism as the source of environmental destruction in the imperialist world. MIM spoke to many participants who agreed on the need to eliminate capitalism if we are going to save the environment. This aspect of the conference was progressive. But the solution offered by the protesters was unclear at best and anti-science at worst. The progressive side of the protest was summed up in the anti- capitalist slogan chanted during the march: "Disease and starvation / can't be cured by corporation / Bullshit! / Get off it / the enemy is profit!" One of the four demands of the protest was: "End corporate control over food and health, as enforced by institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank, and reclaim public accountability and democratic control over the decisions that affect our lives." These slogans and demands correctly recognize the problems of corporate Amerika. But they do not even go so far as to mention the system behind the corporations and the WTO, IMF and World Bank: imperialism. And they offer no solution except to promote "democratic control." This is a movement that is truly failing to lead the people anywhere. To end corporate control we have to fight imperialism, and that requires us to be organized and have a plan of action. Vague slogans will not bring power into the hands of the people. Anti-science demands The strongest message that came through at the protest was opposition to genetically modified foods. People dressed as plants and foods, some supposedly genetic mutants, made for a festive atmosphere and there were many side shows of guerilla theatre and puppets. Many speakers emphasized that genetically altered foods would lead to mutant people. These vague claims about the evils of technology bordered on the Luddite-type philosophy of opposition to technology as an evil in and of itself. MIM agrees more with the demonstrator who held a sign which read "Science is never apolitical." This person was quick to agree that science in the hands of the people is politically correct and that it is only the political use of science by the oppressors that is a problem. MIM agrees with the protesters that it is important to test science to ensure that the impact on humyns and the environment are not dangerous. The effects of many biotechnology innovations are as yet un-tested and in the hands of the capitalists such science can be dangerous as the drive for profit overrides considerations about humyns and the environment. But MIM does not agree with those who argue that biotechnology is inherently bad and dangerous. These protesters offered no more evidence for their claims then the biotechnology industry gives to back up its work. Many people at the demonstration wore stickers protesting GMO trees, which are genetically altered for better capitalist production. One MIM Notes reporter spoke at length with an activists who was handing out flyers about protesting the environmental hazard of GMO trees. While he agreed that fighting capitalism was an important part of the environmental struggle, when pressed for an explanation of the dangers of GMO trees if they were in the hands of the people, this activists could only say that the effects of this technology are unknown. Ultimately this politically articulate activist said that he likes trees and so he does not like this technology. It is this lack of a clear argument against the dangers of biotechnology that leads down the slippery slope of anti-science agitation. Ultimately, in spite of their best intentions, this anti-science ideology can lead to counter-revolutionary fascism. As R. Palme Dutt pointed out many years ago: "The revolt against science, which bourgeois society today encourages in the ideological sphere, at the same time as it utilizes science in practice, is not only the expression of a dying and doomed social class; it is an essential part of the campaign of reaction. This is the basis that lays the ground for all the quackeries and charlatanries of chauvinism, racial theories, anti-semitism, Aryan grandmothers, mystic swastikas, divine missions, strong-man saviors, and all the rest of the nonsense through which alone capitalism today can try to maintain its hold a little longer."(1) Euthanasia supporters show up A number of people with very large conspicuous banners from the Church of Euthanasia showed up to promote voluntary human extinction. One of their banners read "Eat a Queer for Jesus," and others promoted people killing themselves and not breeding. People attending the protest attempted to argue with and block the Euthanasia signs and eventually these demonstrators moved further away from the organized rally. MIM spoke to a few of the younger Euthanasia activists asking them why they were promoting an ideology that amounts to suggesting that people should kill themselves or at the very least kill off much of the Third World. The responses reflected the information offered in the quarter sheet flyer the group was distributing which talks about overpopulation as the cause of all problems on Earth. The flyer, and the Euthanasia activists, recognize that imperialist countries like the u.s. consume far more resources than people in the Third World. But they do not take the next logical step to understand that people starve for lack of distribution of resources or to understand that if imperialism is overthrown we will be able to overcome these problems with an even larger population. Reactionaries like these see a connection between their demand for humyn extinction and the environmental movement in the u.s. This is a dangerous connection that is fostered by unclear political leadership by the mainstream environmentalists and anti- biotechnology activists. Media calls for riots The media coverage of Bio2000 and the counter-protest, Biodevastation, around the world was massive. (A Nexis search of the past 60 days showed hundreds of articles.) In the Boston area, the coverage focused not only on the topics of the conference and the issues raised by the protesters, but also focused on the police preparation in anticipation of "riots" like those in Seattle during the protests of the World Trade Organization. The Boston Herald reported that police were shooting videos from helicopters near the Hynes Convention Center.(2) One RAIL supporter at the rally said s/he saw police snipers from the rooftops as well. Businesses along the protest route for March 26, 2000 were advised to shutter their windows with plexiglass or plywood in case the protesters attempted to destroy businesses. Boston police bragged for weeks that they were fully prepared and trained in crowd control, in order to "protect" the protesters' civil rights. Police chief Evans said: "We have a long tradition of being non- confrontational." The "protest organizers have had two face-to- face meetings with police and have tried to keep them up-to-date about changing crowd estimates."(3) The media hype about the violence and devastation by the protesters was just that --hype. But it made for sensationalist stories about the crazy activists who will riot over any issue that comes up. And it gave the Boston pigs an excuse to further militarize the city for a week. No solution means more capitalism The anti-biotech organizer's demands reflected their lack of a coherent solution to the problems they see with biotechnology. One demand stated: "Strengthen public regulation over potentially dangerous technologies, recognizing the inherent uncertainty of genetic manipulation and placing the burden of proof on its proponents to demonstrate that its proposed products are safe." This amounts to asking the capitalists to regulate themselves since any "public regulation" will be in the hands of the government which is working for the capitalists. Demonstrating their lack of understanding of the need to overthrow the capitalist government to give the people power, during the march many of the demonstrators were chanting "This is what democracy looks like!" This chant was referring to the people marching. The only clear action MIM heard suggested at the protest was to press your local grocery store chain to stop carrying genetically altered foods. In addition to selling copies of MIM Notes, at the rally and conference MIM and RAIL activists were handing out flyers about revolutionary environmentalism which also had an ad for a showing of Green Guerillas, a movie about the struggle over the forests in the Philippines. MIM's fundamental goal is eradicating the oppression of people over people, and this goal is also the most effective way to liberate the environment from humyn aggression. We do not believe that socialism necessarily achieves environmental salvation, but we do argue that only through socialism do we have a chance at it. The Communist Party of the Philippines provide an excellent example of this principle. And as we stressed to everyone we spoke with, people who are serious about saving the environment need to join the revolutionary struggle and work with MIM and RAIL to overthrow imperialism. Notes: 1. R. Palme Dutt, ITAL Fascism and Social Revolution END. New York: International Publishers, 1934. p. 57. 2. Boston Herald, March 26, 2000, p. 1. 3. Associated Press, March 23, 2000.