Report Aims to Clear Up Confusion in the GMO Debate
The European biotech firm EuropaBio has published a new report titled
“Science Not Fiction: Time to think again about GM” that provides an overview
of the debate in Europe over genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The report urges Europeans to take a new look at evidence for GM safety, to confront some of the “misleading tactics” used by some anti-GM-science
campaign groups and to “think again about GM and to discuss how Europe
can play its part in reducing the immediate and future stresses facing our life
support system—the food chain.”
According to a EuropaBio news release, the report “provides insights into the
acceptance challenges of the past, the process of re-establishing ‘fact over
fear,’ and the role of scientists, policymakers, the food chain, media and other
stakeholders over the last 20 years.” Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, director of
Agricultural Biotechnology at EuropaBio said, “The scientific consensus on GM
crops is even greater than that for climate change. It is critical that we work
to engage with the public to overcome any misunderstandings related to the
technology. We need to help people understand how they and the environment
can benefit from including GM in the European farmer’s agricultural
toolkit. We share this responsibility with those food and feed companies
whose products contain GM ingredients, and with national and European
authorities who need to play a bigger role in public communications.”
“The amazing thing is that people harbour fears about GM crops, but don’t
know why they have these opinions. By revisiting the origins of the debate
we hope to enable people to review their perspectives in the light of what
we know today,” du Marchie Sarvaas added. “By revisiting the origins of the
debate we hope to enable people to review their perspectives in the light of
what we know today.”
Among other things, the report notes that (i) Europe is becoming less and
less self-sufficient in food production and therefore relies on Africa, Asia and
America to meet its food needs, as well as draws on scarce local resources like
fuel and water; (ii) GM crops could be one of the green solutions that help
Europe meet its responsibility to produce more food for the rest of the world;
(iii) if GM crops were grown in Europe today, the increase in production could
be equal to the output from land the size of Belgium every year; and (iv) by
increasing yields on existing farmland, GM crops could help to ease pressure
on natural habitats.
