Health Impact News Editor Comments:
Last year, the Biotech industry, which includes Monsanto Co., DuPont, and Dow Chemical, among others, spent $40 million to defeat a GMO labeling measure in California. But similar ballot initiatives are now being proposed in more than 20 other states. An executive for the global Biotechnology Industry Organization is quoted in the Reuter’s story below as saying: “To try to oppose this state by state, that is unsustainable.” Therefore, they are getting ready to spend massive amounts of money on social media efforts at the national level, now that a bill has been introduced in Congress to require foods to be labeled if they contain GMOs.
Well I have a better idea: why not spend your massive resources on something better than politics (this group is the largest lobby group in the U.S.), like sustainable agriculture? Of course such an “investment” would not return a good dollar amount on their investment, as it would lead to less chemicals and inputs by using time-honored sustainable traditional farming methods. Science shows that these traditional methods not only produce higher yields most of the time (for a recent example see: India’s Rice Revolution: India’s Poorest State Grows World Record Amounts of Rice – with no GM, no Herbicide), but of course it would also keep more value back on the farm, rather than in the biotech sector.
The results of transitioning to a smaller-scale sustainable agricultural system (which in fact still produces up to 70% of the world’s food) would reap huge benefits for the farmer, for the land, for food security, and for the consumer. But, of course, the biotech sector won’t give up so easily, so they will continue to fight against basic human rights, such as knowing whether or not we are eating genetically modified food. Labeling GMO foods is something they greatly fear, because they know when consumers have a choice, they will choose healthier food and reject GMO food.
U.S. GMO food labeling drive has biotech industry biting back
Excerpts:
New efforts to force labeling of foods made with genetically modified crops, including a bill introduced by U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, have struck a nerve with biotech crop developers who say they are rushing to roll out a broad strategy to combat consumer concerns about their products.
Executives from Monsanto Co., DuPont, and Dow Chemical, among the world’s largest developers of biotech crops and the chemicals used to help produce them, told Reuters this week they are putting together a campaign aimed at turning the tide on what they acknowledge is a growing public sentiment against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used as ingredients in the nation’s food supply.
Last year, the industry spent $40 million to defeat a labeling measure in California. But similar initiatives are underway now in more than 20 states, and the move by the big biotech firms is designed to thwart the spread of such initiatives, which the companies say would confuse consumers and roil the food manufacturing industry.
“Even when we prevail, we lose,” said Cathy Enright, executive vice president for food and agriculture for the global Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO,) which includes Monsanto, DuPont, Dow Chemical as members.
“To try to oppose this state by state, that is unsustainable,” she said.
The big biotech firms are still working out details of their plan, but it will likely have a large social media component, the company executives said. The group will focus on conveying what it says are the many benefits of biotech crops. Participants have not yet set a budget for the campaign, Enright said.
Read the full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-usa-gmo-labeling-idUSBRE93O18S20130425