The largest and most comprehensive natural history museum in the Southeast, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) is one of the premier educational destinations for both young and old alike to learn about the natural world in a fun, interactive environment. But this beacon of cultural enlightenment has apparently been infiltrated by Monsanto and numerous other corporate interests, all of which were allowed to give presentations at the museum’s recent “Biotechnology Day.”
According to the NCMNS website, the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) partnered with Kelly Services, a local staffing agency, to hold the first ever Biotechnology Day at the museum, which was tag-lined with the somewhat menacing phrase “Biotechnology in Your Daily Life!” The stated goal of the event was to “demystify biotechnology” and enlighten the public as to how it affects their everyday lives.
“Organizations (companies, educational institutions, non-profits) from around the state will be participating with hands-on demonstrations, experiments and crafts,” says the event’s description. Included among these presenters were representatives from both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, which were essentially given an open pulpit from which to indoctrinate the minds of young children into the dogma of drugs and GMOs (genetically-modified organisms).
Monsanto, BASF, and Pfizer all gave presentations at Biotechnology Day
The very first presentation given during Biotechnology Day was titled “A Drug Comes to Market,” and was given by a senior learning technologist from clinical trial giant PPD. Other presentations included “Better Crops for a Better Future,” which was given by a representative of biotechnology giant BASF, as well as another given by the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Campbell University titled “Are You Taking Biotech Medicines?”
There was also a workshop on vaccines given by the CEO of a vaccine company known as Arbovax Inc, as well as a number of exhibits promoting GMOs and the use of emerging biotechnologies for creating “a better life.” Monsanto, the king of the biotechnology castle, even had a deceptive exhibit titled “Applications of Biotechnology to Enhance Crop Productivity.”
A mid-day session included a presentation from a Pfizer engineer who explained to children a little bit more about how proteins are extracted and “purified” for use in biotechnological applications. And the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) held a hands-on exhibit where children were taught how to manufacture biotechnology materials using grape soda.