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SACRAMENTO BEE Protesters gearing up for global farm expo They say the U.S. has an agenda at the capital conference to promote big business. By Edie Lau -- Bee Science Writer - (Published May 26, 2003) The U.S. government will host an international gathering on food and farming next month in Sacramento that will attract thousands of people, probably the majority of them uninvited. The first Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural Science and Technology, at the Sacramento Convention Center, is billed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a showcase for scientific know-how and technology aimed at boosting farm productivity, alleviating hunger and improving nutrition worldwide, especially in developing countries. An alternative point of view sees the conference as the United States pushing industrial-style farming and genetically engineered products on poor countries as part of a broader agenda to promote big-business interests and global free trade. The clash of opinions promises to resound in Sacramento June 23-25, as organizations nationally and abroad issue "calls to action," urging street protests while government dignitaries from 75 countries meet at the tightly secured, invitation-only conference. Some activists are drawing comparisons to the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, where tens of thousands of demonstrators succeeded in shutting down the first day's events in a melee that brought out police and National Guard troops in riot gear. However, Sacramento protest organizers emphasize that their activities -- including a march, a rally, a "teach-in," a debate and a dinner catered by celebrated Berkeley organic foods guru Alice Waters of Chez Panisse -- will be nonviolent. "We would like this to be an alternative agricultural festival. We would like this to be fun," said Heidi McLean, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture, a group born out of the coming conference. Conference promoters express confidence that the proceedings will not be interrupted by protests -- and will take no chances. Fifteen agencies have been involved for months in security planning, said Sacramento Police Sgt. Justin Risley. The agencies include the FBI; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Department of Justice; the Immigration and Naturalization Service; the California National Guard; the California Highway Patrol; the state Office of Emergency Services; the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office; the Sacramento Fire Department; and University of California, Davis, campus police. Security is so tight that many details of the conference are secret. For example, the visiting ministers have been invited on field trips to see agriculture-related businesses and UC Davis research sites, but organizers won't say where. "For security reasons, we're not at this point announcing exact destinations," said Christian Foster, assistant deputy administrator in the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service and conference coordinator. "We don't want traffic jams and so on." Foster did say the ministers would be invited to view rice production and processing, dairy production and processing, and technologies related to food and nutrition. If the protesters -- who say they wouldn't have to take to the streets if they were allowed to participate -- are being kept out of the conference, so are many others. Even the vaunted agricultural school at UC Davis, which is touted by USDA officials as one of the reasons for bringing the conference to Sacramento, is only marginally involved. Dan Sumner, a former USDA assistant secretary now on the UC Davis faculty and a director in the UC system's Agricultural Issues Center, arranged the field trips. Martina McGloughlin, director of the UC Systemwide Biotechnology Program, will moderate a panel on combating hunger and increasing incomes with biotechnology. But McGloughlin's staff members have not received invitations to the conference and are joining the gathering only by renting space in the associated trade show. "I thought we would really play a big role here at UC Davis," Judith Kjelstrom, associate director of the biotechnology program, said ruefully. "It seems like an opportunity lost." Another player notably missing is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pesticides and agricultural air and water quality. Sponsored jointly by the USDA, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the conference is geared toward an international crowd, said Foster, the coordinator. As such, he said, U.S. participation had to be limited. "In terms of the speakers that are coming, there's about 75 slots, and we started with over 1,000 potential people," Foster said. "We had a large cross-government task force to ... bring it down to 80 speakers, and we wanted renowned experts in technical areas. We wanted to make sure they weren't only American speakers because this is an international event." All in all, Foster said he expects up to 1,000 participants. "You just can't fit more than that in a plenary room," he said, referring to the venue meant to accommodate all members at once. The U.S. government invited more than 180 nations. To date, ministers from about 75 governments have said they'll come. It will be a diverse crowd. Participants include Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Israel, Kaz-akhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Poland, Portugal, Samoa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Uganda and United Arab Emirates. Foster said expenses for ministers from some of the poorer countries, including Afghanistan, will be paid by the United States. Total expenses for the conference are $3 million so far, he said. Steve Hammond, president and CEO of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, estimated the event will inject nearly $2 million into the local economy, assuming it brings 1,500 guests into city hotels. "We're very, very enthusiastic," he said. "... It's an opportunity for us to put on our best face for the world." As for the possibility of massive civil disobedience outside the convention center, Hammond said, "I'm very confident that our law enforcement agencies have taken the proper steps to secure not only the building but the community from any people that might come to town looking to do us harm." How many protesters will come from outside Sacramento is unclear. Many organizers are from the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest; at least one has come from as far away as Vermont. Next weekend, the Oakland-based Ruckus Society will hold a training camp in Sacramento to teach "direct action" tactics. Some groups will work inside the official forum as well as out by staffing booths at the trade show, which is open to a broad array of businesses and organizations willing to pay the rental fee. In one example of a quasi-official event, the San Francisco-based International Forum on Globalization will hold a briefing for visiting agricultural and environmental ministers and for California legislators, followed by dinner provided by Chez Panisse founder Waters, champion of sustainably grown, local, fresh, in-season foods. The group contends that free trade agreements serve the interests of large corporations at the expense of the environment and social justice. Another Bay Area organization, the Institute for Food Development and Policy -- also known as Food First -- will sponsor a public debate at the Crest Theater aimed at raising questions about the environmental and health safety of genetically modified foods. McLean, the Sacramento protest organizer, said the alternative events are meant to help educate anyone who has questions about food and farming, U.S. policy and international affairs. Far from wanting to frighten people away, she said, "We want to let the public know they should attend." Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural Science and Technology When: June 23-25. What is it: U.S. officials bill it as a showcase for technology and know-how aimed at alleviating world hunger; protest organizers say the United States is promoting industrial-style farming and genetically engineered food at the expense of poor countries. Who's coming: The U.S. government invited more than 180 nations, and conference organizers say they're expecting as many as 1,000 people to attend. Protest organizers say they expect thousands to demonstrate in opposition. Where: Sacramento Convention Center. 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. |