Students ignited by powerful message

David Suzuki addresses the ignorance of modern industry and biotechnology

Chelsea Moore staff

Last Wednesday, hundreds of people crowded into the multipurpose room (MPR), scrambling for a seat from which to get a closer look at world-renowned leader, geneticist and author David Suzuki.

A large, animated audience listened and clapped excitedly as Suzuki spoke with great passion at the University of Manitoba Jan. 25. In his speech, Suzuki warned that the current reliance on biotechnology is “downright dangerous” given how little is known about its effects.

“The nature in any revolutionary era is that most of your current ideas are wrong,” noted Suzuki. “It’s not a degradation of this activity, it’s simply the way science is.”

Suzuki was the keynote speaker for the U of M’s annual celebration week that took place from Jan. 23-28, organized by UMSU.

Suzuki said that, unknowingly, Canada is serving as the testing ground for genetically modified organisms (GMO’s.) In 10 years, he added, the lessons of this “uncritical” pursuit of science — including any potential consequences of using biotechnology — will be a lesson learned for Europe.

He also expressed skepticism surrounding the role money and profit play in the discussion of GMOs, both on university campuses and within the industry itself.

“When you hear a biotechnology advocate . . . the first thing you do is say, ‘Mr. Expert, before you start telling us all this stuff, please, where do you get your money? Who’s paying you? Is there any money coming from the industry itself?’”

Suzuki compared genetic modification to taking U2’s Bono and putting him in the Winnipeg symphony to play music.

“When you transplant that gene out of the fish into the strawberry plant,” said Suzuki, “the first thing that gene does is say, ‘where the hell am I and who are all these other weird DNA sequences around me? I have no idea where I am.’”

Another issue that was raised throughout his speech was Canadian politics, which, according to Suzuki, focuses too much on the costs of health care, and too little on the causes of the increased medical need.

“If health costs are increasing at 7 per cent a year, that means in 10 years, the costs of medical care will have doubled,” said Suzuki.

“Can we just go on trying to give more and more money to deal with rising health-care costs, without ever wondering, why are the costs growing so rapidly? Maybe it’s got to do with the fact that cancer has for the first time in history become the number one killer in society,” stated Suzuki, suggesting that, “maybe it’s got to do with the fact that we poison the earth.”

Suzuki then alluded to the drug industry as being responsible for the larger health issues.

“The biggest rise in health-care costs are the drugs, and do you think those drugs are more effective?” he asked. “If those drugs are so important, why aren’t deaths and illnesses falling? Hell no, the drug companies are creating diseases to sell us the drugs that are ineffective.”
In the question and answer part of the event, Suzuki briefly commented on the recent federal election.

“I have been absolutely astounded and sickened by the absence of any substantive issue about the environment in this last election,” noted Suzuki.

“What we get instead is the elimination of the Green party from any of the debates, and so many people act as if, well, if the [Green party isn’t] there then we don’t have to discuss the environment, because that’s their issue.”

Suzuki concluded with a hint of optimism.

“When we look ahead a generation, we find everybody is on the same stage,” said Suzuki. “I’ve taken this to politicians, to the business community, to the faith community, and everybody agrees, ‘yes, I would like that to be my country in 20 or 30 [years].’”

“So now we don’t have to fight,” added Suzuki. “We’ve got a target, and we now know where we can go.”