Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society
In a move that can be seen as a desperate cry for help (and a smart one, I might add), biotechnology companies like Monsanto, Bayer, Dow AgroSciences, and DuPont have launched a new website called gmoanswers.com, which reportedly aims to uncover myths and truths surrounding GMOs and their place in our world. Really, the website is a campaign to fight GMO labeling and tighter regulation on genetically engineered seeds and crops.
Interestingly, this multi-year, multi-million-dollar campaign involves the biotech seed companies opening some of their fields and offices to visitors. They will also host personal, face-to-face forums nation-wide, according to Cathleen Enright, spokeswoman for the website.Created as an online forum and “central online resource” where experts take the time to answer questions posted by the public, GMOAnswers, which represents the biotech industry as a whole, appears to be an extremely valuable tool in educating about GMOs. The biotech industry tells its viewers to ask ‘tough questions, to be skeptical, and to be open to the answers provided by the experts in the forum’.
Who is Behind It?
But even while appearing helpful and informative on the surface, let us not forget who is really taking this last fighting breath. Monsanto, the biotechnology giant responsible for much of the GMOs we are seeing today, is a key opponent. The company has spent over $40 million to defeat the most influential GMO labeling bill in California – Proposition 37, and is known for leading farmers to suicide nearly every 30 minutes. The company has even been given special laws protecting it from lawsuits, as many politicians are also involved with Monsanto.
