GENOA, Italy, May 25 (Reuters) - Italy saw its biggest protest yet against genetically modified foods as thousands marched to the site of a biotechnology conference in the northern city of Genoa on Thursday.
Marchers, estimated by police at around 4,000, included supporters of environmentalist pressure groups and political parties, farmers, leftists and representatives of local councils that have banned GM foods.
"The message of this march to life sciences companies that develop GM technology is: Don't patent life," Fiorello Cortiana, a member of the Greens and vice-president of the Senate's agricultural committee, told Reuters. "We should be properly informed about GM technology so that we can make our own choices about what we eat."
Police armed with truncheons and carbines escorted the march. At least 40 officers ringed a restaurant of U.S. company McDonalds Corp., located on the square where the march began in central Genoa.
A sales assistant said the restaurant had closed because of the protest. McDonalds, which has been the target of anti-GM protests in Europe in the past, has halted purchases of GM foodstuffs.
Environmentalists have raised concerns over possible health and environmental risks from GM foods, but life science groups say GM crops can raise yields, potentially reducing world hunger, and increase resistance to disease.
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