Anti-GM protesters disrupt Melbourne’s Biofestival

Anti genetic-engineering protesters smashed full vases containing genetically modified carnations during the afternoon session of the Biofestival 2004 at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre today.

Three women approached the display and swept the vases from their stand, shattering them and spreading the mauve carnations onto the carpeted floor, shouting “Monsters." “What you are doing is criminal.”

Startled security guards moved in to restrain the women, taking them to a nearby room to question them. The woman who destroyed the vases appeared to be in a highly agitated state and collapsed after being led away by the guards.

Earlier in the day activists with their mouths taped with black duct tape protested at the entrance to the exhibition centre and shouted at delegates: “What you’re doing is a crime.”

The carnations, developed by Melbourne biotech Florigene, have been grown commercially in Australia for more than half a decade and were the second genetically modified crop approved for environmental release by Australian authorities after genetically modified cotton.

They are now used by florists worldwide.