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National Public Radio (NPR) SHOW: All Things Considered (8:00 PM ET) - NPR
June 20, 2003 Friday LENGTH: 672 words HEADLINE: Agriculture conference in Sacramento ANCHORS: ROBERT SIEGEL REPORTERS: JOHN McCHESNEY BODY: ROBERT SIEGEL, host: Next week agriculture ministers from more than a hundred countries will gather in Sacramento, California. The US Department of Agriculture is hosting the event, which is supposed to introduce developing nations to the latest in farming, science and technology. Critics say the conference is just a way for the US to peddle its industrial agriculture and genetically modified crops as a solution to world hunger. Protests are planned. NPR's John McChesney reports. JOHN McCHESNEY reporting: The Sacramento conference has its roots in a 1996 World Food Summit in Rome where delegates from 180 nations set a goal to cut hunger in half by 2015. At a subsequent meeting in 2002, it was clear that not much had been done, so the US decided to hold a Sacramento conference. Agriculture Undersecretary J.B. Penn says all kinds of technologies will be discussed there by nearly a thousand delegates. Mr. J.B. PENN (Agriculture Undersecretary): It's about water management technologies, it's about improved seeds, and it's really focused on the 800 million people in the world who are chronically hungry and malnourished. McCHESNEY: But the conference is occurring in a highly charged political atmosphere. A few weeks ago, President Bush blamed the European Union for prolonging hunger in the developing nations by refusing to import genetically modified crops. President GEORGE W. BUSH: (From a few weeks ago) This has caused many African nations to avoid investing in biotechnologies for fear that their products will be shut out of European markets. European governments should join, not hinder, the great cause of ending hunger in Africa. McCHESNEY: The US also recently took legal action against the European Union and the World Trade Organization for not ending its moratorium on GMO imports. So the fact that agriculture ministers from most European countries are not attending the Sacramento event might appear to be politically motivated. But Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said that was not the case. The real reason, she said in a Washington briefing, is that they're tied up in meetings reformulating their own agriculture policies. Secretary ANN VENEMAN (Agriculture Department): And so because of that we won't have a lot of participation from people from the European Union, and we're disappointed by that. McCHESNEY: Whatever the reason for the EU's absence, the GMO issue will cast a shadow over the meeting in Sacramento. Secretary Veneman went out of her way to point out that GMOs are not the only focus of the conference, but she made it clear where she stands. Sec. VENEMAN: It really is about a whole range of technologies that impact agriculture, but I do think there's great promise, there's great misunderstanding about the biotechnology that's been adopted in this country and what we've been able to do. McCHESNEY: Several organizations are planning teach-ins and demonstrations in Sacramento to counter what they see as a conference slanted toward the dominant American way of farming, heavily dependent on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, expensive machinery and genetically engineered crops. Debi Barker is executive director of the International Forum on Globalization. Ms. DEBI BARKER (International Forum on Globalization): We'd like to see alternative systems of agriculture be part of the picture in a more prominent way. We would hope that the USDA policies that they're promoting around the world would include how to have very self-sufficient food supplies locally and to promote the more smaller, low-tech types of farming. McCHESNEY: Meanwhile, Sacramento is girding for street demonstrations that police say could draw as many as 8,000 people. Organizers say they plan for non-violent actions aimed at disrupting the conference. The Sacramento Police Department has canceled time off, and the California Highway Patrol is bringing in over 400 extra officers to guard the state Capitol. John McChesney, NPR News, San Francisco. LOAD-DATE: June 21, 2003 FAIR USE NOTICE: This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The International Forum on Globalization is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of environmental, corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social justice issues, etc. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |