Monday, May 7, 2007

Where Are All The Protestors?


A big question asked by many attendees on the way into the conference today was "Where are all the protesters?" Blame it on lackluster youth or the fact that there are so many other bigger problems in the world but either way, the BIO2007 conference is proceeding on a very upbeat mood.

While protesters plan to hold seminars, rallies and parades during the conference through Wednesday, the number of actual protesters is reported as quite a bit "more modest” compared to 2000, when Boston hosted its last biotech convention when as many as 3,000 people marched down Boylston Street during one parade.

It seems that people have become more familiar with biotech as a whole and it is no longer as frightening as it once was from the sci-fi movies. While there was a protest Saturday at a rally opposed to a high-security, BSL-4 research laboratory now under construction at Boston University Medical Center, the majority are more concerned about animal rights -- an issue that concerns many industries -- rather than a protest against biotechnology itself.

The broader base of biotech as it touches most geographic areas in some way seems to have brought a more pragmatic understanding of the industry.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

We're here, BIO. And we're going to make our presence felt.

Ben said...

...with blog comments! FEAR OUR WRATH!