Pope claims GMOs could have ‘ruinous impact’ on environment

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Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimedia

Pope Francis has warned against the use of genetically modified foods in a message to mark World Food Day.

…[T]he Pope said that a growing number of people seem to “believe they are omnipotent, or able to ignore the cycles of the seasons and to improperly modify the various animal and plant species, leading to the loss of variety that, if it exists in nature, has and must have its role.”

Genetic modification may produce excellent results in the laboratory, which “may be advantageous for some, but have ruinous effects for others,” he said.

. . . .

Particularly as climate change threatens food production, people need to rediscover the benefits of living simply and with respect for the earth and stop looking at food primarily as an economic commodity to exploit, Pope Francis said.

“From the wisdom of rural communities we can learn a style of life that can help defend us from the logic of consumerism and production at any cost.”

While some would claim large agribusinesses are pushing production to feed a growing population, the Pope said other evidence suggests that the main motivation is money, not resolving hunger.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: In World Food Day message, Pope criticises ‘ruinous’ impact of GM foods

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