Activists Protest in Front of
the Chicago Board of Trade

Wednesday, April 17, 2002 --

ODJ Protest Against Genetically Engineered Corn Outside CBT

By Kate Gibson

Chicago, April 17 (OsterDowJones) - Activists - some dressed as farm
animals and others wielding signs in the shape of monarch butterflies - on
Wednesday staged a lunchtime rally outside the Chicago Board of Trade.
Chicago police estimated about 75 people attended the peaceful protest,
one of about half a dozen organized by the Organic Consumers Association
and held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico against genetically engineered corn.
Organizers targeted the CBT because it is "an obvious American symbol of
the industrialization of food," said Jim Slama, president of Sustain, a non-
profit environmental group in Chicago.

The exchange is "where many of the mechanisms are located," said Andy
Cobb, a Chicago actor who played the role of the "corporate villain" at
Wednesday's protest. Wearing a suit and a sign listing Cargill, ADM, Syngenta
and other agricultural entities, Cobb jokingly berated another protester held
by a leash and dressed as a dog, and wearing a sign labeled USDA and FDA.
"The Board of Trade was founded to help farmers make markets for their
crops many years ago," Slama told the crowd. But, "we've destroyed
international markets for our corn" by introducing genetically altered grain,
he added.

"There is nearly zero safety testing on humans," said Slama of
genetically-altered food. "The government keeps listening to industry studies."

As for the science magazine Journal's near retraction of an article
published last year on the discovery of GE corn growing in Mexico, Slama
said "there is a lot of pressure on scientists not to beat up on the biotech
industry."

While Board of Trade spokesman David Prosperi had no comment on the
protest, some of those venturing out from inside the building did, with one
man repeatedly yelling "Stop Progress" as he walked by.
Others saw the protesters as well-meaning hindrances to business.
"It is difficult enough to sell corn in general, without people clamoring
against GE corn," said Gilbert Raske, a partner at JGC International, a
commodities import and export business located inside the CBT building.
Business is "becoming more difficult," Raske added, estimating that one out of
every six contracts now come in specifying for non-GE corn.
"There is no scientific evidence" that GE corn harms humans, he added.