Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The Pro-GMO Lobby In Retreat

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, April 2, 2015

The Pro-GMO Lobby In Retreat

Click here to access article by Colin Todhunter from East by Northwest.

It has been such a tough period for the pro-GMO lobby that it’s difficult to know where to begin. But let us start by looking at two pieces of recent research that strike at the very heart of the pro-GMO argument, namely:

1) GM crops are needed to feed the world.

2) The GMO agritech industry is based on sound science and reasoned argument.

Todhunter then follows this up with considerable documented evidence to refute both arguments.

With so much profit at stake, we, the public, are being fed pro-industry propaganda to counter the evidence, and scientists are being subject to pressure to distort their findings. This is much like the long history of health concerns about asbestos and cigarettes and industry efforts to counter these concerns. (Read Merchants of Doubt by Oreskes and Conway for this history.)