Surprise - Cornell is taking the GMO Safety Debate to a new level!
Excerpted from The Ecologist.
Something important just happened at Cornell's Alliance for Science, writes Steven M. Druker. Long known as a keen promoter of genetic engineering, the organization has experienced a profound change of direction. Its new director, Sarah Davidson Evanega, has opened an inclusive scientific dialogue on the safety of GMO crops. Who says it's all 'over'?
Surprisingly, the Cornell Alliance for Science, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and strongly promotes genetically engineered (GE) crops, does not seem to share the narrow-minded attitude regularly expressed by one of its chief spokespersons.
Despite the fact that Mark Lynas, the organization's widely quoted Visiting Fellow, has repeatedly declared that the debate about these crops is 'over' - and that we no longer need to discuss whether they're safe - the organization's Director, Dr. Sarah Davidson Evanega, has not only fostered the debate's continuation, she has recently taken it to a new level.
In an unexpected and commendable step, she distributed a new book that presents a well-documented case against the GE food venture to all 25 participants in the Alliance's Global Leadership Fellows Program; and she then arranged for them to attend a public lecture delivered by the book's author on September 30th.
I am that author, and I'm pleased to point out that through these actions, the Alliance has initiated a major, and most welcome, shift in the debate....
The article sounds promising as a point of progress in getting the truth across. The last paragraph was so vague. What context, at this point in time, when heavy independent science is finally coming to light and getting press, could entice the author to consider the debate "over."
In describing a post-lecture interview with a PhD person, he says,
"She said that she favored situations in which those coming from opposing viewpoints can engage in constructive dialogue not only to discern the grounds on which they disagree, but to explore and expand the common ground between them.
I think that's a promising approach, and if the Alliance for Science sincerely wishes to follow it, I am prepared to accept that within the context of such a specific endeavor, the GMO debate can be provisionally treated as 'over'."
Posted by: Jenny | December 31, 2015 at 05:08 PM
Bill Nye, the "science guy", has said he visited Monsanto and then changed his mind about GMOs--he now suppports them. I wonder if he left his visit with a check in his pocket?
Posted by: a reader | December 31, 2015 at 09:33 AM
I doubt the author got an invitation to Vilsack's January invitation only meeting on GMO labeling.
Down the corporate yellow brick road.
http://krvn.com/agricultural/vilsack-to-host-january-meeting-on-gmo-food-labeling-issues/
Posted by: Greyone | December 31, 2015 at 07:19 AM
Like anything, this could be a set up to shut down the debate for good. I don't trust things like this anymore. Autism Speaks comes to mind. Sorry to be so cynical on the Eve of a New Year. Maybe I'll feel better if a year from now we are on the verge of Inaugurating the only person in the race who give a rats rear end about our kids....Donald Trump.
Posted by: NanNJ | December 31, 2015 at 05:54 AM
"[T]he Cornell Alliance for Science has been attacking U.S. Right to Know and organizing a petition against our FOIA requests regarding the agrichemical industry PR and political campaigns to defend GMOs.
The Cornell Alliance for Science began last year with a '5.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,' the world’s largest foundation, which is a promoter of and investor in the agrichemical industry. The CEO of the Gates Foundation, Sue Desmond-Hellman, worked for fourteen years at the biotech company Genentech.
The Cornell Alliance for Science says that their 'goal' is to 'depolarize the GMO debate,' but attacking our consumer group is an odd way to 'depolarize' the debate over the health and environmental effects of genetically engineered food and crops."
http://usrtk.org/gmo/whos-behind-the-attacks-on-u-s-right-to-know/
Posted by: Carol | December 30, 2015 at 08:54 PM
What is a "Safety Bebate?"
Posted by: Researcher | December 30, 2015 at 05:17 PM
Wow, great news. I knew there must be someone in this country with common sense and some ethics.
Posted by: a reader | December 30, 2015 at 04:25 PM
From UK's GM Watch (www.gmwatch.org) yesterday:
"A new science-based website, GMOScience.org, has been set up by a group of experts in science, medicine and agronomy “to evaluate the data on the pros and cons of genetically modified organisms (GMO) through an expert review process”.
The new website has some knowledgeable and well-qualified people on its expert advisory board, including:
* David Schubert, a medical research scientist, professor and head of the Cellular Neurobiology Lab at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla CA
* Ray Seidler, an environmental microbiologist and expert on the environmental hazards of GM microbes and crops
* Myrto Ashe, MD, a family physician based in the San Francisco Bay area
* Michelle Perro, MD, a paediatrician who has spoken publicly about the worsening health of children in the US.
The site presents information on GMOs for the beginner and the more advanced reader. We hope that the presence of health professionals on the advisory board will stimulate a public discussion about the neglected area of GMO health risks.
Keep an eye on the site for new updates and please share this news with your networks. www.gmoscience.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GMOScience"
Posted by: Linda1 | December 30, 2015 at 02:47 PM