So the EU seems to be taking a cautious approach to GM - whether it’s too late to stop the spread of this insidious, untested bio-technology remains to be seen.
Eight EU member countries have already banned cultivation of GM crops on the basis of scientific studies, yet in the US farmers are unwitting and unwilling scapegoats for a GM industry gone mad, led by Monsanto, in 2011 voted by Natural News readers, “most evil conglomerate on the planet.” If you think that’s an extreme position for some members of the public to take, look no further than “David and Monsanto” a one-hour documentary that made me in turns, angry and depressed but then cautiously optimistic. The story of Percy Schmeiser of Saskatchewan, a lone farmer who refused to lie down and let Monsanto walk all over him, is one of those tales that makes you feel warm and fuzzy about determination and belief in a cause. You even start to think that maybe the good guys might prevail.
Whether the EU move against GM crops is too little too late is the real burning question, but denying approval for any further GM species could be a step in the right direction. Whether the US has the resolve or the ability, given the financial and political clout of the vested interests, to act in the same way, is extremely doubtful. We just have to make sure that Australia doesn’t go down the same path as the US. Once the GM crops are in the environment, there is no way they can be contained. What is even more concerning is the likelihood of new, transgenic species that have never been seen and would never have arisen naturally. Great time to review the long-term benefits of organic produce and get out there and buy it!
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