Organic vs. biotech why?
Sep 2, 2004 12:00 PM, By Ed Duskin
The Organic Consumers Association's (OCA) latest tack in its anti-GM campaign is to attempt to establish GM free zones all over the world. As expected a major focus is in California where its Web site now has a section entitled “BioDemocracy Alliance — Creating GE — Free Zones Across the Americas: Defend the Mendocino Victory and spread GE-Free Zones Everywhere”.
They say people across the world have been inspired by the historic David and Goliath victory in Mendocino County. They warn that big bad industry is fighting back. Monsanto and the “gene giants” fear that “global civil society” will follow the Mendocino example.
Additionally this organization makes rash allegations about the lack of safety of GM crops with statements like — “We have reached a turning point in history. Although organic farming is now the fastest growing component of world agriculture, with farmers in 110 nations now cultivating certified organic crops, there are, unfortunately, approximately 150 million acres of herbicide resistant or Bt-spliced genetically engineered (GE) crops (soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola) planted across the world — 99 percent of them cultivated in only four nations: the U.S., Canada, Argentina, and China. These Frankencrops are contaminating the food supply, polluting the environment, and steadily running the world's 2.4 billion farmers and rural villagers into bioserfs.”
It seems to me that these people could and should accept GM as organic since it uses no external pesticides and gives better traits and quality. Trying to eliminate GM is swimming upstream for the organic growers. If they accepted GM as being part of the “organic” umbrella, they would have the best of both worlds. It seems there are lots of enviro nuts among these people — they are against everything new and technologically advanced. Luddites at best — too bad!
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