We hope you read our Feature story this month “YES on Measure 92”, about the GMO Labeling bill in Oregon. Questions abound on both sides as to the safety and other aspects of GMOs, so as a public service we decided to devote this month’s “Health Notes” to definitively deciding who’s right. Well… not really. GMOs are controversial in part because they represent a new and emerging field, with the first GMO product brought to market only 20 years ago. The effects of the technology aren’t yet apparent to even to the scientists and farmers who work with it every day, much less to the people who are paid to market it or the people trying to make their best decisions about what to eat based on stuff they found on the internet.
When faced with an insoluble problem like this we’ve found the best way is to let the flag bearers battle it out and let you decide who won. So, in the battle for your Health this month we have two contenders…
In one corner, representing the “Pro-GMO” side, is GMO Answers. This website is brought to you by the transnational corporations who produce GMO’s and have your best interests at heart, including companies like BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow, Dupont, Monsanto, and Syngenta. It’s full of double-speak, happy talk, and half-answers, but if you want all the real science supporting GMO’s (and there’s lots of it) then they’ll be sure to have it. Stuff opposing… not so much. And there are many questions about GMOs they don’t bother to address.
And in the other corner, representing the “Anti-GMO” side, is the NON-GMO Project. This scrappy little website is brought to you by people who may actually have your best interests at heart, but, unfortunately, may not have science on their side. They mix good (but unanswered) questions about GMOs with debunked science, tantalizing studies, and anecdotal evidence to show why GMO’s may not be the panacea the agri-companies would have you believe. They can’t prove GMO’s are bad, but they may be able to prove more research is needed.
And there you have it, two groups bringing their best, most detailed arguments to the table on the value (or lack thereof) of GMO foods. Get ready to rumble!
(Of course, please remember that Oregon’s Measure 92 would only require LABELLING, not banning, of GMOs. In our humble opinion, this seems like a very good compromise until the science is definitive. Get the information you need, then YOU decide!)
