Protestor drinks w/USDA

I'm a local Sacramento person who has been gathering information (about this conference, GMO's, etc) all week. Each day I’ve started with a goal to have a direct impact through non-violent methods. Tuesday night was no different. Rather than go to the show, I decided to try something a little different. I donned my Dockers and polo shirt and headed to the Hyatt bar…
At first the night seemed to be a flop. I arrived at 9:30 but wasted the first 45 minutes. I was sitting next to two conference attendees who had an extremely technical conversation that appeared to have no breaks. I then met a Genetic Engineer from Honduras with whom I talked for quite some time. He bought me a drink and we enjoyed a smoke together. We talked a little cultural philosophy and science, and he seemed to feel Genetic Engineering was safe since nature had worked on the plans for so long. He felt the code is so interdependent that you can’t make any big changes or the thing won’t grow. He also seemed to feel after thousands of years after mixing up DNA we might make enough changes that would create a new product that would cause concern.
Coming back from the smoke we ran into some guys from USDA. Right off the bat one of them jokingly asked if I had been out there protesting. I told them I had, at which point they looked at me to try and figure me out. We talked for a while about GM, but then joined a larger group of USDA folks (about 10 total). The mix seemed to be a few Republicans (4?) and the rest Democrats. I was told that one of the women was “very high up” – I think it was Ann Veneman. I was announced as one of the protestors, so I had to answer some questions like: who was I, what did I do for a living, was I wired, and so on. Although I was a little offended, I did understand the questioning. At first, no one wanted to talk about GM foods (after talking about ag stuff all day). I asked them about where they were from, would they get to go to Cancun, etc. After a little while, a few of the women left, and then I recognized David B. Hegwood walking around. He came over and sat right next to me. (Yes, this is the person who was on the panel for Monday night’s debate). After a few minutes of inane chit chat, the group started questioning me about my thoughts on BT. (They refer to it as BioTech).
The discussion lasted hours. It included the general thought that BT can be one tool to combat hunger. There seemed to be general agreement that social change was the real solution to combat world hunger – but that they didn’t have control over social change. Within the Department of Agriculture, they had many ways of growing food. The agricultural expo was a way to show off all the ideas. One person (who was one of the five who created this event) told me that the event had three presentations on organic farming. The group expressed the opinion that there needed to be representation of all technologies so that different countries could figure out what worked for them. Someone told me I shouldn’t worry, since the changes were basically “small time stuff”. I expressed this as a concern: that we could be fine with many BTs, but eventually, we could stumble upon a really bad one.
Some told me that there is rigorous government testing being done on all BTs. They acknowledged however, that there is no way to recall genetically engineered products. I emphasized my concern that without a means of recall, the testing needs to be even more rigorous. Finally, after seeing I wasn’t going to sing the praises of biotech, they asked me what would convince me that BT is safe. I said time. After all the products I’ve seen introduced and recalled throughout my life, I needed time. I needed to see that BT food didn’t cause cancer over time, which we agreed is the sort of thing that happens with a lot of new technology.
The example of cell phones being introduced without studying their long-term effects on human health was used. I brought up cases like lead paint, DDT, airbags, and even breast implants. By this point it was late into the night, last call was fast approaching, and as everyone had a long day ahead of them, we said our goodbyes. Dressed as I was, I walked out into the Sacramento night, strolled through the barricades surrounding the convention center, and made my way home.