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[SANET-MG] Suzuki warns against GMOs
The final comment from Monsanto may seem arrogant but it may simply
reflect their cozy relationship with the Saskatchewan court.
Suzuki warns against hastily accepting GMOs
Angela Hall
The Leader-Post (Canada), April 26, 2005
[via agnet]
High-profile scientist and broadcaster David Suzuki was quoted as telling
reporters at the Regina International Airport Monday before delivering a
benefit lecture in Regina, adding, "I'm a geneticist, so I'm very
excited by
what's going on in terms of genetic engineering. I think we're seeing
abilities now that I never dreamed I would live to see in my lifetime.
What bothers
me is we have governments that are supposed to be looking out for our
health, for the safety of our environment, and they're acting like
cheerleaders for
this technology, which... is in its infancy and we have no idea what the
technology is going to do."
Suzuki was further cited as saying he wanted to help raise money for the
Saskatchewan organic farmers' bid to launch a class action lawsuit against
Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science, adding, "What organic farmers have
said is
genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) represent a kind of technology
we do
not want to incorporate into our food growing and I support that."
The story explains that the farmers, who have formed the Organic
Agriculture
Protection Fund (OAPF), were in a Saskatoon courtroom last November to try
to have their case certified as a class action. The judge has yet to
release a
decision.
They ultimately want the court to rule on whether the companies are liable
for farmers' losses due to GMO contamination of certified organic
canola crops
and farms.
Suzuki was further cited as saying he thinks the technology is too
young to
tout "so-called benefits" for agriculture, and it is also an experiment in
food safety, adding, "Anyone that says 'Oh, we know that this is perfectly
safe,' I say is either unbelievably stupid or deliberately lying. The
reality is
we don't know. The experiments simply haven't been done and we now have
become the guinea pigs."
The story says that Monsanto has called the farmers' lawsuit a platform
for
advancing the anti-GMO position of various groups in a public arena.
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