Remarks by Tina Stevens

Remarks by Tina Stevens

Biotech Critics and the Missing Grassroots

  • Are the overarching concerns and strategies of the Tarrytown gathering different from those of biotech critics in the last half of the last century? Should they be?
  • Why it's important not to avoid activism this time around. What types of activism are most crucial? Why grassroots campaigns are essential in routing cooptive strategies and achieving policy victories.
  • Two Strategies Compared: "Governing Emerging Technologies" and Political/Legal Action
  • Building the Grassroots

Reaching youth and the general public, providing foci for education and action: College lecture circuit, YouTube videos, Social networking e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Examples of grass roots projects:

BioConversations

Various Alliance for Humane Biotechnology projects: harnessing student power

  • Political Campaigns and Grassroots in California:
  • Prop 71 (The abortion divide; proponents mobilized the power of grassroots)
  • AB 1317: warning on egg broker ads (transcending the abortion divide. student backing, consciousness-raising.)
  • Follow-up to AB 1317: Legal complaint requesting enforcement
  • Future efforts: letter and petition drives for egg donor registry; action to bring CIRM into compliance, etc