MILAN, Italy -- The debate surrounding genetically modified (GM) organisms is warming up in Italy as Tebio, the exhibition and conference on biotechnology that will be held in Genoa starting Wednesday, approaches. Mobilitebio, the national movement against genetic manipulation, intends to emulate the Seattle WTO protests.
As a start, a group of protesters surrounded the headquarters of Novartis Italia in Origgio on Saturday and blocked the entrance to the plant with a banner. The slogan on the banner read: "When you'll have cut the last tree, polluted the last river, eliminated the last living being, you'll realize that you can't eat your money."
Terry Tyzack, director of communication at Novartis Italia, expressed no concern. "All Novartis biotech products have been tested and controlled by independent research institutes," Tyzack said.
Novartis, he added, has launched several educational initiatives to promote the spread of scientific information on biotechnology.
While Novartis was under siege, a conference on biodiversity and globalization, another Mobilitebio event, was taking place in Genoa.
Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, who donated the equivalent of $50 as symbolic support to Mobilitebio, said, "Open field experiments on transgenic plants can create problems to both conventional and organic crops; therefore, we must protect the interests of our farmers."
On the European front, he said "the agriculture ministry hopes for a complete modification of the European regulation on GM foods experiments. We shall possibly initiate a contentious procedure."
Last week, another Italian minister -- Willer Bordon -- officially spoke against Tebio.
Although Mobilitebio promoters guaranteed that the protests will be nonviolent, the Genoa Police Department has mobilized more than 3,000 officers to prepare for the international anti-Tebio demonstration, scheduled for Thursday.
