WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The following op-ed piece is by Frances
B. Smith, Executive Director of Consumer Alert:
Archer Daniels Midland Co. -- fond of touting itself as "Supermarket to the
World" -- should change its slogan to "Specialty Market to the Rich of the
World." ADM recently warned its grain suppliers they would have to
segregate crops produced from biotechnology from those produced
conventionally. Not only would this redundancy cause prices to rise
significantly for consumers on a whole range of food products, but
reactions like ADM's could spread and grind to a halt the potential
benefits that biotechnology could bring to millions of starving and
malnourished people in developing countries. ADM's action came in the wake
of hysteria in Europe fueled by anti-biotechnology activists and fanned by
tabloid-type media coverage. The anti- biotech campaigns have moved quickly
to the U.S. and Canada. Leading the charge was Greenpeace, whose first
targets were baby food producers -- Gerber, for one -- whom they scared
into promising "never ever to do it again, mommy," that is, to use food
produced through biotechnology in its baby foods. Gerber is going to use
"organic" food instead, even though there is no scientific evidence that
organically grown food is safer, purer, or more healthful than
conventionally grown or bio-engineered food. Indeed, agronomists point to
Centers for Disease Control data showing fresh, unprocessed organic
foodstuffs may have a higher incidence of food-borne pathogens. Some large
companies before Gerber had already caved in to the fear-mongering
campaigns against foods produced through biotechnology, even though they
know and have stated publicly that there is no scientific justification for
their actions.As ADM said in its statement, the company "remains supportive
of the science and safety" of bioengineered crops, but it was worried about
customers abroad who are concerned about gene-altered crops. ADM's
buckling under, however, speaks more loudly than its "supportive" words to
customers and consumers and is likely to provide fertile ground for
activists to make further inroads.Indeed, Reuters quotes European activists
as declaring "victory" in response to ADM's cave-in. Critical public health
benefits that biotechnology can offer could be set back through companies'
playing into the hands of Greenpeace, et al.If biotechnology research
proceeds at its current pace, the human and environmental benefits of
agricultural biotechnology could be dramatic and widespread in the near
future. That would mean higher crop yields and a likely reduction in
pesticide usage. Biotechnology is the best hope we have of meeting the
growing food demands of a world population that will increase by at least
50 percent in the next several years.If we don't increase yields on the
land already being farmed, the alternative is to put more land into
production -- lands that now represent forests and wildlife areas. Among
the possibilities of biotechnology are drought resistant crops and plants
resistant to aluminum toxicity, which cuts crop yields in vast regions of
the world, primarily in developing countries. Enhanced nutritional levels
of staple crops can prevent diseases that are life-threatening or
debilitating. In just one example, gene-altered rice has been enhanced with
Vitamin A and could help eradicate blindness, caused by a deficiency of
that vitamin, in millions of children. Currently, consumers know little
about those benefits. Activist groups that are campaigning against this new
technology in countries across the world ignore the positive and instead
promote images of fear and dread to depict the products of biotechnology.
It is not a food safety issue, however. It is an issue of a new technology
that rubs against the values and tastes of some, who, in satisfying their
own preferences, would deny biotechnology's benefits to the world.
SOURCEConsumer Alert
-0- 09/07/1999
/CONTACT:Fran Smith of Consumer Alert, 202-467-5809, or e-mail,
Info@consumeralert.org/
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