The web has become a sewer channeling scare mongering about crop biotechnology. One of the most common techniques used by anti-biotech campaigners is the circulation of “Top 10” type lists, which purportedly unmask how the biotech industry and top scientists and regulators in the United States, European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere are huddling in back rooms churning out lies about GM foods and plotting the destruction of the global food supply (and world health in general, for good measure). Now we have our own GLP infographic that presents the scientific facts so you can reach your own independent judgement — click anywhere on the preview image below to access a full-sized PDF with source links:
The GLP put the search terms “myths about GM foods” in Google and came up with more than 1.6 million entries and thousands of articles with titles like: “Top 7 myths about GM foods and Monsanto,” “GM myths and truth report,” “13 myths about genetic engineering,” and a current favorite, “10 reasons why we don’t need GM foods.” The later, which can be downloaded from GM Watch to pass out at next Occupy Monsanto event can now be found on literally hundreds of sites. It’s a compilation of the most egregious (and easily debunked) claims by advocacy groups.
Some writers have done their best to address these science-less attacks, from National Public Radio’s Dan Charles to venerable bloggers such as agricultural researcher Cami Ryan. But like weeds or the stars of a whack-a-mole game, they keep popping back up. We at the GLP have come to think that anti-biotech campaigners who pass around such ‘hit lists’ do not respond well to reasoned discussion and complex logic. With that in mind, the GLP is launching a new project. Going forward, we will put out occasional infographics to represent what the science says on crop biotechnology.
Related on the SLP
Our first effort—10 Reasons We Need Crop Biotechnology and GM Foods—is included in our GLP Weekly Newsletter and is also available on the GLP website. It comes complete with source links to international foundations, research organizations, major science journals and top newspapers. Please feel free to download and circulate this GLP crop biotechnology infographic!
