GreenPeace: GMO corn not good for rats
argh,
Green Peace is denouncing monsanto for supposedly hiding data that proved that genetically modified corn is harmful to rats livers.
What a PR heaven for GreenPeace. They get to go after GM food and after corporate greed all in one fell swoop. But see, this is exactly what rubs me the wrong way. They better have solid evidence before playing "fear tactics" in the press.
Religious fundamentalists and extreme environmentalists share the same hatred of genetic engineering. Both appeal to a transcendental force we are not supposed to experiment with. How very dark ages.
GM food remains ones of the most promising 21st century technologies to feed the planet but let's paint it as evil. I much preferred Green Peace when they were protecting seals and whales, the feel good stuff.
Green Peace is denouncing monsanto for supposedly hiding data that proved that genetically modified corn is harmful to rats livers.
What a PR heaven for GreenPeace. They get to go after GM food and after corporate greed all in one fell swoop. But see, this is exactly what rubs me the wrong way. They better have solid evidence before playing "fear tactics" in the press.
Religious fundamentalists and extreme environmentalists share the same hatred of genetic engineering. Both appeal to a transcendental force we are not supposed to experiment with. How very dark ages.
GM food remains ones of the most promising 21st century technologies to feed the planet but let's paint it as evil. I much preferred Green Peace when they were protecting seals and whales, the feel good stuff.
Comments
The documentary was irritatingly vague on the IP details -- it basically came down to a German pig farmer going around pig farms collecting samples showing that the gene Monsanto tries to patent appears naturally on many existing breeds already, and therefore there is no way for farmers to fight the license fees.
The more sinister bits were certain US farmers claiming and attempting to prove that feeding their farm animals 100% on Monsanto's modified corn was causing significant birth rate reduction on the animals. There was an interview of an FDA official who claimed had been fired when he refused to accept the research Monsanto pushed to prove their products safe. The usual legalized bribery..err, lobbying claims were there and the spin on saving the world from hunger was put under a very different light.
The most telling I guess was the flat out refusal of many DNA labs to touch the poor farmer's pig samples whenever the name Monsanto came up. None of them wanted to be identified fearing a lawsuit.
All in all, the picture was very similar to how the tobacco industry used to fight the claims that smoking causes cancer.
Whether true or not, it certainly put me off from their products, and anyone who uses their products. I'm sure there is much more to this story to come :-)