People have been altering our plants and crops since time immemorial so why is there concern over genetic engineering? What is it about this that is different from selective breeding or hybridization?
Is it ethical to change the DNA of plants and animals for our own use and is it safe? Did Mother Nature get it so wrong when she ‘created’ our world that we need to fix it?
Are the far reaching claims used, as the basis for extensive promotion of genetically engineered crops by the biotech industry, governments, government agencies and proponents of GE technology really true?
400 scientists from 60 countries concluded, back in 2008, that genetic engineering was no solution to food shortages in the developing world.
This research was detailed in the UN’s International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report.
The 2008 report concluded that GE raises numerous contentious issues for developing countries, such as gene transfer, contamination of organic and conventional crops, undermining of local practices, reduced food security and unpredictable or reduced yields.
Add to that the issues of liability and the health effects on both humans and animals that are increasing over time, then there are clearly huge concerns about the future of farming with genetic engineering in the environment.
If GE paints such a bleak picture, then why are huge corporations such as Monsanto bothering to push their products onto the market? Consumers overwhelmingly are voting with their feet so why keep expanding the market? Who is trying to stop the labeling of food to show GE or GE free?
These and other questions will be answered by Jon Carapiet, spokesperson for GE Free NZ and trustee for Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility.
Over the last ten years, Jon has been a leading consumer advocate in the area of food safety and consumer rights. He has regularly commented in the media and actively participated in the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification and other regulatory processes through ERMA.
Jon’s advocacy work has centered on the risks of commercial release of genetically engineered organisms to public health, the environment, and to New Zealand’s exports and tourism-based economy.
He has drawn on his professional expertise in marketing, as a senior market researcher, to highlight the necessity to protect “Brand New Zealand” and to pursue an ethical biotechnology strategy that is based on the precautionary principle and respect for community values.
Jon is motivated by his humanitarian concerns for people and the planet that are at risk from those seeking to exploit the world’s supply of food, our animals, and the environment.
Join us to get a real handle on where we are around GE in 2012 and to understand that one of the key ways to oppose GE is to insist on the labelling of our food, right now.
WRITE to The Herald.
Jon Carapiet
http://www.organicnz.org.nz/node/419
http://press.gefree.org.nz/press/20120815.htm