Who Will Bail Out Humanity If the GMO Evangelists Win?

[Judi Lynn]

July 17, 2015
Who Will Bail Out Humanity If the GMO Evangelists Win?

by Colin Todhunter

The pro-GMO lobby likes to think it has the monopoly on truth. Anyone questioning its creed is attacked and smeared. GM Supporters claim to be big on science and peer review. While mouthing slogans about science and its pivotal role in steering the GM debate, they rely on unscientific tactics and polemics to promote their cause. They censor and distort scientific research and attack and smear scientists and others who criticise the pro-GMO establishment and the efficacy of or need for this technology. They also forward bogus claims based on the (inept – see this) studies they cite (see this, this and this to read about the points made here).

Rather than let science and rational discussion underpin the debate and attempt to use that to convince decision makers, the GM industry relies on expensive lobbying campaigns to attack transparency, resorts to fakery, bribery, intimidation, dirty tricks and the corrupting of public sector bodies that in principle exist to uphold the public interest.

The fact remains that, in spite of these tactics and the funds at its disposal, the pro-GMO lobby has to date failed to make much headway in getting this technology accepted in most countries across the world. It has failed to make a convincing case for the need for GM, and its tactics have been shoddy and its reasoning bogus.

It says its opponents are anti-science who are bucking the supposed scientific consensus on GM and are preventing progress while overstating the risks involved. These claims have already been exposed as fallacious, but a recent piece in the New York Times by an investment expert and a prominent scientific advisor with an interest in risk management provides some revealing insight. They deconstruct the myths that the industry relies on to promote GMOs and draw parallels with the financial collapse that led to the current ongoing economic crisis.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/17/who-will-bail-out-humanity-if-the-gmo-evangelists-win/

[GreatGazoo]

1. They are digging their own PR / marketing hole deeper by fighting transparency

If they are successful next week in passing the Dark Bill they will only create more suspicion.

Part of the equation is that people are afraid of getting sick. 93% of American believe vaccines work and 93% of American want GMOs labelled. The cost of healthcare is so devastating that people are less inclined than ever to take chances. People see the value in staying as healthy as they can.

Big Brands have been hammered by a general distrust of processed foods and GMO is the last straw. After 8 years of declining sales for Coke, McDonalds and many others, they are starting to get it. They are starting to back away from GMO and HFCS and to offer some more choices. They are trying to reconnect with the consumer but they are having trouble with the transparency; it's a new world for them:

We understand that increasing numbers of consumers are seeking authentic, genuine food experiences,” said Campbell Soup Co. CEO Denise Morrison, “and we know that they are skeptical of the ability of large, long-established food companies to deliver them.”

http://fortune.com/2015/05/21/the-war-on-big-food/?src=longreads

[Judi Lynn]

2. Thanks for the link. Good news. n/t