Collusion and Corruption in GM Policy

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> 16 Jul 2004 14:15:48 -0000

 

> Collusion and Corruption in GM Policy

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> ISIS Press Release 16/07/04

>

> Collusion and Corruption in GM Policy

> *************************************

>

> Claire Robinson uncovers some uncomfortable truths

> about the

> machinations of the pro-GM establishment in Britain

>

> Sources for this article are posted on ISIS members'

> website

> http://www.i-sis.org.uk/full/CCIGMPFull.php. Details

> here

> http://www.i-sis.org.uk/membership.php.

>

> In a recent debate on genetically modified (GM)

> foods at the

> House of Commons, Dr. Ian Gibson, who chairs the

> all-party

> Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee,

> dismissed

> concerns over GM food safety.

>

> As a scientist, he said, he could wipe the floor

> with his

> opponents. Gibson, MP for Norwich North, said: " The

> epidemiology studies carried out in every major

> centre,

> including in the universities in the States and

> elsewhere,

> into the effects of [GM] food ... have shown no

> effects

> whatever that correlate with the food - although I

> understand how difficult that is to prove. "

>

> Unfortunately for Gibson, one of the few scientists

> to have

> done GM food safety tests, Dr. Arpad Pusztai,

> responded to

> his comments in an open letter. Pusztai pointed out

> that

> " there have been no epidemiology studies, and

> certainly none

> published. This is obvious from the fact that, apart

> from

> this generalisation, you could not refer to a single

> such

> study. It is not surprising because in the absence

> of

> labelling of GM food in the USA such studies could

> not be

> carried out! However, it is known from official

> statistics

> that in less than ten years food-related illnesses

> have

> practically doubled in the USA since the

> introduction of GM

> food into the American diet. " He went on to add that

> while

> the reason for this is unknown, it is blatant

> bluster to

> declare that everything is well in the USA and that

> none of

> these ill effects correlate with food, including GM

> food.

>

> Gibson went on to claim that " the evidence is piling

> up to

> say that the [GM] food is, indeed safe. " But when

> Pusztai

> asked Gibson to elaborate on this evidence, Gibson's

> reply

> was less confident. He gave just three examples to

> support

> his case, including a Monsanto study. Pusztai

> commented, " I

> expect what constitutes a pile is a matter of

> definition.

> One can reverse this argument by saying that the

> evidence is

> in fact piling up to show the health problems of GM

> foods

> reported in the published science literature.

> However, these

> you and other pro-GM supporters conveniently

> ignore. "

>

> Indeed, Gibson has ignored other recent evidence

> that

> further casts doubt on the safety of GM foods. These

> were

> raised at an Independent Science Panel (ISP)

> briefing in

> Parliament organised by ISIS and Gibson's fellow MP,

> Alan

> Simpson. The evidence includes reported illnesses in

>

> villagers living near Bt maize fields in the

> Philippines,

> recent disclosure in Le Monde of kidney

> abnormalities and

> changes in blood sugar and blood cell numbers in

> rats fed Bt

> maize resistant to corn rootworm, published

> scientific

> papers documenting problems with Bt toxins and

> transgenic

> instability in commercial GM lines. Gibson had

> pointedly

> declined the invitation to attend the briefing.

>

> The evidence should, at the very least, set alarm

> bells

> ringing and prompt scientists and policy makers to

> take

> appropriate action. Surely this should mean not

> approving GM

> foods unless they can be unequivocally proven safe;

> and at

> the same time, conducting serious, independent

> research into

> GM food safety. In ignoring all of the evidence,

> Gibson is

> adopting an extreme anti-precautionary approach, one

> that is

> totally unacceptable and irresponsible, considering

> that it

> is human health that is at stake.

>

> In contrast, former environment minister Michael

> Meacher

> had, at the briefing, demanded a new, full-scale

> expert GM

> enquiry in the UK, in light of the lack of good

> research

> into the long-term effects of GM foods on human

> health and

> the rubbishing and lack of follow-up on research

> that turns

> up evidence of potentially adverse impacts (see

> " Meacher

> calls for enquiry into GM safety " , SiS 22)

> http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews/sis22.php

>

> Duplicity galore

>

> What forces could bring Gibson, a former Dean of

> Biology at

> the University of East Anglia, who is proud of his

> independent-mindedness, to join the chorus of spin

> with

> which GM technology is promoted? After all, this is

> the same

> man who, just a few years ago, warned against the

> inclusion

> of GM ingredients in school meals: " There is an

> awful lot

> unknown about hazards of new [GM food] crops and

> until it is

> fully tested we should not be subjecting people to

> risks,

> least of all young children. "

>

> A clue to the source of Gibson's apparent conversion

> lies in

> the introduction to his speech to the House of

> Commons: " The

> point has often been made here that genetically

> modified

> crops are being grown extensively in north and south

> America

> and in China, although not in Europe. They have in a

> sense

> become part of the normal diet in those places, if

> not in

> Europe, where there is still contention, despite the

> fact

> that 300 million US citizens continue to eat GM soya

> without

> any ill effects in a very litigious society, and

> many

> Europeans, including people here, have eaten it

> while in the

> US, with no adverse consequences. "

>

> Compare Gibson's words to the following introduction

> to an

> article: " Genetically modified (GM) crops are now

> being

> grown extensively in North and South America and

> China,

> although not in Europe. Food produced from these

> crops has

> become a part of the normal diet in North and South

> America

> and in China, but not in Europe, where contention

> continues

> despite the fact that millions of US citizens eat GM

> soya

> without any ill effects in a very litigious society,

> and

> many Europeans have eaten GM soya while in the US

> without

> any adverse consequences. "

>

> Gibson's introduction is copied almost word for word

> from

> this article, which, it turns out, was published in

> May as

> an EMBO Report - intended to provide short papers on

>

> molecular biology - by Nature Publishing. It was

> written by

> Derek Burke, a former Vice Chancellor of the

> University of

> East Anglia - where Gibson also worked. Burke is

> known among

> campaigners as the 'GM godfather' for his aggressive

>

> protection of biotech interests and his alleged

> tendency to

> influence so-called " independent " reports and

> government

> policy.

>

> Analysis by campaign group GM WATCH of Gibson's

> speech

> revealed that whole sections were lifted from

> Burke's

> article (see

> http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=3822). It

> became

> clear from this comparison that the politician who

> boasted

> he had the scientific knowledge to wipe the floor

> with his

> adversaries is in reality nothing but a parrot.

>

> For the record, ISIS has invited the Royal Society

> to debate

> the scientific evidence in public more than once;

> but it has

> never accepted the invitation. The ISP is now happy

> to

> extend the same open invitation to Ian Gibson.

>

> Gibson also, at the behest of the pro-GM lobby group

> Sense

> About Science, asked Tony Blair in the House of

> Commons to

> respond to Derek Burke's letter calling for more

> government

> support for GM. It subsequently emerged that this

> letter,

> too, was the work of the industry-funded group (see

> box).

>

> Who is Derek Burke?

>

> Prof. Derek Burke was chair of the UK regulatory

> committee

> on GM foods (Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and

> Processes

> - ACNFP) for almost a decade (1988-97), during which

> time

> the first GM foods were approved for the UK. In the

> 1980s he

> worked for a biotech company (Allelix Inc of

> Toronto) and

> until 1998 was a director of Genome Research Ltd.

>

> During much of his time at ACNFP, Burke was also

> Vice

> Chancellor of the University of East Anglia

> (1987-1995) and

> a member of the governing council of the John Innes

> Centre

> (JIC). Both institutions have benefited from

> investment in

> GM research, with the JIC subsequently enjoying

> multi-

> million pound investments from biotechnology

> corporations

> like Syngenta and Dupont. Burke participated in the

> UK

> government's " Technology Foresight " exercise to

> decide how

> science could best contribute to the UK's economic

> competitiveness. He was then charged with

> incorporating the

> Foresight proposal to build businesses from genetics

> into

> the corporate plan of the UK's public funding body,

> the

> Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research

> Council

> (BBSRC). As a result, BBSRC developed a strategy for

>

> integrating scientific opportunity with the needs of

>

> industry, which left it heavily aligned with

> industry.

>

> Burke was a member of the Royal Society working

> group on GM

> foods whose report, " Genetically Modified Plants for

> Food

> Use " , is said to have reassured ministers on the GM

> issue.

> He was also a member of the Nuffield Council on

> Bioethics

> group that produced the report " Genetically modified

> crops:

> the social and ethical issues " . This pro-GM report

> emphasising the " moral imperative " to push GM crops

> into the

> Third World was described by Guardian columnist

> George

> Monbiot as " perhaps the most asinine report on

> biotechnology

> ever written. The stain it leaves on the Nuffield

> Council's

> excellent reputation will last for years. " Burke was

> also a

> member of a small Nuffield working group who

> produced a

> follow-up report along the same lines in 2003.

>

> Burke has been revealed as having a hand in

> initiatives

> coordinated by the prominent industry-backed lobby

> group

> Sense About Science. In October 2003 he sent a

> letter

> together with 113 other scientists to Tony Blair

> complaining

> about the government's failure to intervene in the

> GM Public

> Debate in the UK. The Times Higher Education

> Supplement

> (THES) initially reported the letter as " written and

>

> coordinated by Professor Derek Burke " . But a THES

> article of

> 7 November said, " The letter was coordinated by

> Sense About

> Science " , while a THES Leader on the same topic did

> not even

> mention Burke, referring instead to, " The new

> organisation

> behind the letter, Sense About Science " . Burke is on

> the

> Advisory Council of Sense About Science.

>

> Why the Gibson-Burke collusion matters

>

> So Gibson plagiarised Burke and made false

> statements about

> the state of GM science. Does it matter? Just why it

> does

> can be seen from what emerged following Gibson's

> exposure as

> " a parrot " .

>

> Gibson's local newspaper picked up the story and

> wrung an

> important admission out of him about his speech's

> similarity

> to the words of his former employer, Derek Burke:

> " When

> pressed Dr. Gibson admitted: 'We are working

> together to try

> and erode the anti-GM debate.' "

>

> The whole point of the Select Committee on Science

> and

> Technology, which Gibson chairs, is to provide

> parliamentary

> scrutiny of science issues independent not only of

> government but of the vested interests that can

> impact on

> government policies and public bodies. When the UK

> Science

> Minister is a known enthusiast for GM crops and

> biotech

> entrepreneur, independent scrutiny is vital

>

> The Select Committee has issued reports critical of

> Arpad

> Pusztai and, more recently, supportive of the BBSRC

> - the

> public body that Derek Burke did so much to align

> with

> industry. Indeed, the only serious criticism the

> Gibson-led

> Committee made of this corporate-friendly body was

> that it

> was not pro-active enough in promoting communication

> with

> the public on issues like GM crops where public

> trust needed

> to be achieved.

>

> At a time when the biotech industry is retreating

> from the

> UK in despair at the GM-sceptical climate, Gibson

> appears to

> be stepping up his activities on its behalf. In

> collaboration with the industry-friendly lobby group

> The

> Scientific Alliance, he arranged a lobby assault on

> Parliament called " GM Question Time " on 13 July. The

> panel

> was uncompromisingly pro-GM (see a full rundown,

> with

> industry affiliations, at

> http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid =4004).

> Naturally,

> the speakers' links with industry and its associated

> lobby

> groups are undisclosed in the press releases

> announcing the

> event.

>

>

>

>

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