The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate and Ecological Association “Za zemjata-For the Earth” present:

Life Running Out of Control (60’, USA, 2004)
screening of some parts of the documentary film by Bertram Verhaag and Gabriele Krober



And a debate on the issue: “Liberalization of GMO – where is Bulgaria in the ongoing drama after EU’s loss of the “battle between clean and Genetically modified agriculture” with US in front of WTO?”

The questions surrounding GMO are again the public focus in Bulgaria. Three years after the first legislation, the so called Law on GMO (2004), some ecological organizations warned out the information that GMO could be found in some food products produced regardless the procedures of prescript control.
The new international development after the US won a case against EU regulations in front of the WTO creates new questions in front of the changing legislation in Bulgaria concerning GMO less restrictions.

Why was Europe against GMO, why did Europe lose the “battle” in WTO, what will be the consequences of reducing restrictions, what are the risks, for whom will be the profits, what has happened in EU countries until now, and what will happen in Bulgaria as a new member state of EU – these will be the main questions for the debate after the screening of the documentary.

More about the documentary

In the mid-1980s, scientists, with the help of biotechnology, thought they had found the key to mastering the planet, and especially its living organisms. Suddenly, everything seemed possible!
Twenty years later the filmmakers embark on a global journey to explore the effects of the ongoing experiments in the genetic manipulation of plants, animals and human beings.
Some of the results have not been pretty.
* Due to a disastrous crop of genetically modified cotton many Indian farmers face ruin, and choose instead to sell one of their kidneys or commit suicide.
* In Canada genetically modified canola seeds blow onto the fields of neighbouring organic farms, thus making organic certification of those farmers' crops impossible.
* The Icelandic parliament sells the entire gene pool of its population to a private company which intends to turn over the data at a profit to the pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies.
* The Human Genome Diversity Project collects blood, hair and saliva samples from 700 groups of people judged to be in danger of extinction on the pretext of preventive health care. The gene samples find their way into the laboratories of industry to provide the basis for valuable patents.
Worldwide only a handful of idealistic scientists are defying industry, doing independent research on the effects of transgenic animals and plants on the environment and our health when we consume genetically modified food.
This leads to the conclusion that not only does genetic engineering pose a serious scientific problem, it also challenges fundamental democratic principles, and deserves the widest possible public discussion.

January 30 (Tuesday), 6.00 p.m.
Red hall
The documentary is in English, with Bulgarian subtitles.
The debate is in Bulgarian.
Tickets: 2/1 BGN

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