Lauren Boyd was recently arrested, along with two other protestors, at a demonstration at Hazelton Laboratories. They were charged with obstructing access to the lab. Lauren and the others were there to protest Hazelton’s continued commitment to genetically modified foods research and to thwart Hazelton’s advances toward releasing their products to the public foods market. Police eventually shut down the protests, but YES! still claims a moral victory: onlookers and lower–level laboratory employees seemed interested in our cause and inquired about YES! and the other environmental movements present.
YES! made its presence known at a recent stockholder’s meeting at Bio–Gen’s Corporate headquarters in Cape Hazard. YES! succeeded in rallying together media coverage from the county newspaper to local television news stations, demonstrating to Bio–Gen executives that the public eye is on them as allegations of corporate misconduct and misleading the public about facility pollution hung in the air.
On May15th, Paul Smith teamed up with PETA to organize and showcase Cape Hazard’s first annual No–Fur Fashion show. The show included pieces by renowned designers Ralph Lauren and Stella McCartney, and also included showcases from student designers at the local fashion institute. YES! was a key influence in making this fashion show happen and, along with PETA, in raising public awareness about the cruelty and inhumanity of the fur trade and fashion.
YES! showed their support at a public trial on March 27th when an employee at Greenskin Nuclear Power Plant decided to go on the record about company environmental malpractices. YES! supports whistleblowers who have the courage to risk their job and livelihood for the safety of the community.
YES! burst on to the local environmental scene when founder and executive director Lauren Boyd decided to mobilize against Farber U’s partnership with Hazelton Labs for genetic engineering research at the school’s agricultural department. Because of YES!’s tireless commitment to the environment and in raising public awareness about the dangers of genetically modified foods, Farber U. curtailed the more controversial aspects of its research.
“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”––Margaret Mead