> Vandals Ruin Crops at UC-Berkeley Genetic Research Center
>
> Sasha Talcott
>
> Daily Californian - U. of California : Berkeley (U-WIRE)
>
> BERKELEY, Calif., May 26 -- Two ski-masked activists scaled
> the fence of an Albany research center partially owned by the
> University of California-Berkeley and destroyed dozens of plants in
> an effort to stop research on genetically modified food, a
> government spokesperson said Thursday.
>
> Sandy Miller Hays, director of information for the federal
> government's Agricultural Research Service, said security guards
> making their rounds at 4:30 a.m. Sunday came across two men
> dumping tomato plants onto the floor. The men, who had apparently
> hopped the fence of the facility and cut a hole into the side of two
> greenhouses, subsequently ran away.
>
> The targeted facility is jointly owned by UC-Berkeley and the
> federal government.
>
> Hays estimated the damage at less than $1,000, in part because the
> security guards intercepted the activists before they could destroy
> more plants.
>
> "I don't know why they're doing this, or even what they think we're
> doing that would cause them to want to do this," Hays said.
>
> Hays said the vandals followed the same pattern as in a January
> break-in, in which a single man scaled the fence and threw several
> plants onto the floor before running away. She added that the crops
> the vandals destroyed were used to research potential genetic
> engineering techniques to reduce the use of pesticides.
>
> "This was research to benefit the environment," Hays said. "We
> want a plentiful, safe, good crop without using so many chemicals."
>
> In an anonymous communique, the group Reclaim the Seeds
> called the research center a "monstrous labyrinth" and took
> credit for this week's break-in. "We believe that with enough
> preparation, luck and a few tools of the trade, the powers of
> darkness cannot keep us out of their greenhouses and labs," the
> communique states. "Ultimately, our fear of a dead
> planet is greater than our fear of state [and] corporate repression."
>
> Denny Henke, a spokesperson for GenetiX, which represents the
> activists, said the two men destroyed the crops to protest a marriage
> of technology and farming that they say endangers their health.
>
> Henke accused companies of splicing and dicing food genes to
> maximize returns with little regard for consumer well-being.
> "Congress is part of a fairly corrupt system," he said. "We have a
> so-called democratic government, but the system we have
> discourages the democratic process and encourages corporate
> profits."
>
> He said activists used "direct action" tactics as a last resort to bring
> attention to their cause.
>
> The activists also aim to make it unprofitable for the companies to
> produce genetically engineered food, Henke added. "They want to
> say to companies, 'You're not going to do this and get away with it,'"
> he said. "The government may not hold you accountable, but we will
> cost you money."
>
> James Seiber, a spokesperson for the Albany facility, said the
> vandals destroyed plants that were not even related to food
> production. "It's regrettable and we're taking it very seriously," he
> said.