Defending Good Science

September 2, 2003

Pre-Season Preview, Part II

It’s after Labor Day – the kids are back in school, the employees are back from vacation, and the activists are soon going to start manning the picket lines. Last month, “Defending Good Science” examined a few of the likely hotspots as the spreaders of junk science get ready to pitch their cries.

Predicting activist actions can be a fool’s game. For one thing, hindsight is 20/20 – yet the craziest forecasts couldn’t have predicted we would see headlines like “Manhattan to be Underwater in 100 years” as Greenpeace decried the perils of climate change (October 27, 2002 – AP). The fight to break through the media noise means activist groups are forced to make increasingly crazy claims and speculation. What special ‘pearls of wisdom’ are we going to see next?

Renewable Energy – this is a no-brainer. I, like many Northeastern North Americans, was caught in an uncomfortable situation in the “Big Blackout of 2003,” (stuck in Detroit without any gas.) There’s an entire case study or three to be made regarding the crisis communication lessons to be learned from this event, but in the meantime – we discovered just how much we like having electricity. What will be interesting is to see where activists take this one – can they get away with saying we need to scrap new power generation? One would think that after the California blackouts of last year and the blackouts this month that the focus will be on creating only renewable, cleaner sources of energy.

What to watch? In an ironic twist, the activist leading the charge on cleaning up America’s waterways by getting rid of pork producers – Robert F. Kennedy Jr – was in the media three days before the blackout protesting an electric wind farm outside his Nantucket resort. He doesn’t like the proposed wind farm - because it interferes with his view.

Biotechnology – “Defending Good Science” received more replies on biotechnology and its related applications than any other potential issue. Certainly, the issues related to GM food are not going away. I reported last month that Monsanto has introduced GM wheat – in the interest of honesty, I should report that I’ve probably jumped the gun – they have submitted a file for commercial registration, but the wheat isn’t in the ground yet. They’ve committed to working with the supply chain, but that hasn’t prevented everyone from the Canadian Wheat Board to Greenpeace from getting upset.

What to watch? The introduction or discussion of the ‘next generation’ of genetically modified products will have increased benefits for the end consumer. Tomatoes may have more nutrients, salmon could be cheaper, or products may simply have novel traits such as a unique color. As the benefits and risks of these products become increasingly argued, it will be interesting to see how consumers wake up and pick sides.

Animal’s in the Food Chain – while loosely related to biotechnology, the issue of animals and human diet continues to stress certain activists. People like Robert Kennedy believe pigs are dirty. Groups like PETA believe animals should run free. Increased stress on groundwater resources means many jurisdictions are considering nutrient management laws (“what to do with animal poo.”) Now being questioned is what affect animals may have on people after the animals become food themselves – whether its massive meat recalls in Canada, or customers suing fast-food chains because they got fat after eating their food.

What to watch? Canada is in the midst of their second beef scare in three months – after a solitary animal tested positive for Mad Cow disease earlier this summer, a meat recall in Ontario has implications on the meat industry everywhere. Stateside, watch to see whether lawsuits have any affect on the fast-food industry – could individual states go after fast food chains for hurting their healthcare system, just like they went after the tobacco firms?

Checkmate Link of the Month

For those who think Activist Terrorism is an urban legend, I urge you to check out www.shacusa.net. Calling itself a ‘clearing house’ for activist news, SHAC had targeted a company called Chiron Corp. A quick glance of headlines in their news sections reveals things like “Chiron employee gets New Car Redone” (after it was vandalized), or “Activists make sure Chiron Workers Get Home Safely” (after activists followed employees home.)

On Thursday, August 28, two pipe bombs exploded outside of Chiron’s offices. No one was hurt – this time.

Free Stuff!

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