WHY DO THE KEY GM ADVOCATES OPPOSE KYOTO?

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GMW: WHY DO THE KEY GM ADVOCATES OPPOSE KYOTO?

" GM WATCH " <info

Fri, 8 Jul 2005 14:57:52 +0100

 

 

 

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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Although originally written 5 years ago, Robert Vint's piece below

continues to be remarkably relevant, not least given the current G8

meeting

where Bush is happy to promote an agenda that includes GMOs but seems

intractably opposed to taking any meaningful action on climate chgange.

 

One point to add is that there are many others who could be added to

Robert's list of GM advocates and climate change attackers. For instance,

in the UK, obvious candidates include the Scientific Alliance and the

various lobby groups associated with, on the one hand, Julian Morris and

Roger Bate, and, on the other, the LM network. [details at

http://www.gmwatch.org ]

 

In the US, an obvious addition would be Monsanto's " corporate partner " ,

the Congress of Racial Equality, who as well as taking money from

Monsanto get big bucks from ExxonMobil to attack action on climate change.

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5156

 

An interesting point, of course, is that when it comes to GM crops

these lobbyists accuse their critics of not kow towing to what they claim

is the scientific consensus. When it comes to climate change, they

reverse this and attack people as cowardly for not daring to challenge

the

scientific consensus.

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WHY DO THE KEY GM FOOD ADVOCATES OPPOSE THE KYOTO TREATY?

 

Subscribers to Dr C.S.Prakash's pro-biotech 'AgBioView' email list will

be familiar with the names of some of the key global promoters of GM

food and crops, most of whom are based in the USA, such as those named

below. [website at www.agbioworld.org ]

 

Interestingly they all have websites that not only defend GM food but

also attack the Kyoto Treaty on global warming:

 

1. Philip Stott, ProBiotech www.ecotrop.org (Organiser of the UK

'Seeds of Opportunity Conference' in May)

2. Steven J. Milloy, Citizens for the Integrity of Science

www.junkscience.com and www.nomorescares.com

3. Alex Avery, Center for Global Food Issues www.cgfi.com & his father,

Dennis Avery, The Hudson Institute www.hudson.org

4. Frances B Smith, Consumer Alert www.consumeralert.org (A " consumer "

group opposing consumer safety and rights)

5. Gregory Conko, Competitive Enterprise Institute

www.cei.org/ceimain.asp [who co-founded Prakash's AgBioWorld campaign]

6. John Carlisle, National Center for Public Policy Research

www.nationalcenter.org

 

How, one might ask, are GM and CO2 connected - other than that they

both have implications for the regulation of big business? Is it

possible

that

these people are called in whenever such businesses run into trouble?

The issues addressed on these websites do suggest this:

 

1,2,3,4,5,6 oppose the Kyoto treaty and CO2 emission regulations

1,2,3,4,5,6 oppose organic farming & labels [Alex & Dennis Avery are

the leading opponents of organic farming]

1,2,5,6 oppose concern about rainforest destruction.

2,5,6 oppose tobacco taxes & regulation. [Milloy is a former tobacco

industry lobbyist and CEI is tobacco industry funded]

2,6 oppose gun control laws

 

Stephen Milloy (2) is a former tobacco industry lobbyist as well as a

former executive director of TASSC, a front organisation created by

tobacco giant Philip Morris. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (5) and

Consumer Alert (4) are also recipients of Big Tobacco funding. [PRWatch

investigates 'No More Scares' http://members.tripod.com/~ngin/168.htm ]

The Hudson Institute (3) which opposes organic farming and pesticide

regulation, is biotech industry funded. (Donors include: AgrEvo, Dow

AgroSciences, Monsanto, Novartis, Zeneca).

 

These groups are closely linked to one another (see their link pages

and two fake 'consumer' alliances that they have jointly created:

National Consumer

Coalition www.foodstuff.org and International Consumers for a Civil

Society www.icfcs.org ) They share a common philosophy that generally

includes:

a. Support for unregulated global free trade and the World Trade

Organisation.

b. Opposition to environmental, gun, health and safety, and food

labelling regulations and to the Precautionary Principle.

c. Denial of environmental problems such as global warming, rainforest

destruction, DDT and agrochemicals.

d. Support for the oil and nuclear industries and for the unregulated

use of fossil fuels.

e. Support of biotechnology and transnational corporations.

f. Belief that environmental and safety concerns as mere marketing

stunts by organic and green businesses.

 

ARTICLES BY GM-PROMOTERS OPPOSING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS AND

CONSUMER PROTECTION:

 

1. Philip Stott, ProBiotech:

*Hot Air + Flawed Science = Dangerous Emissions

www.junkscience.com/apr01/wsj_stott.htm

*Tropical Rain Forests: Exposing the Myths www.ecotrop.org (click on

'rainforest' left link) " Over the years, a series of 'little green lies'

has been insidiously applied to tropical rain forests with the aim of

persuading Governments, and all of us, that we do not simply 'like' or

'want' to keep these forests, but that we 'need' them scientifically for

sound ecology "

*Critical 'Global Warming' Reports www.ecotrop.org (click on 'Climate

3' left link)

 

2. Steven J. Milloy, Citizens for the Integrity of Science:

*Gun Control Science Misfires www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,7217,00.html

*Organic Industry Groups Spread Fear for Profit

www.nomorescares.com/news/organic.htm

*100 things you should know about DDT www.junkscience.com/ddtfaq.htm

*Biotech foods www.junkscience.com/consumer/consumer_biotech.htm

 

3. Alex Avery, Center for Global Food Issues & Dennis Avery, The Hudson

Institute:

*American Outlook Contradicts Environmentalists on the Effects of

" Global Warming " www.hudson.org/press5.htm

*Global Warming-Boon for Mankind?

www.hudson.org/American_Outlook/articles_bin/Global%20Warming.htm

*The Hidden Dangers in Organic Food www.hudson.org/averydoc9d.htm

*New Organic Food Standards Could Use Warning Labels

www.cgfi.com/new_detail.cfm?Art_ID=193

*Another Dubious Link Between Pesticides And Cancer

www.hudson.org/averydoc9d.htm

*Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastic

www.hudson.org/upcoming.htm

 

4. Frances B Smith, Consumer Alert:

*Consumer group relieved at announcement on CO2

www.consumeralert.org/press/pr010314.htm

*The Biosafety Protocol: The Real Losers Are Developing Countries [PDF]

www.nlcpi.org/books/pdf/briefly_march00.pdf

 

5. Gregory Conko, Competitive Enterprise Institute:

*Organic Food Standards May Violate First Amendment

www.cei.org/PRReader.asp?ID=1318

* " Precautionary Principle " Stalls Advances in Food Technology

www.cei.org/UpdateReader.asp?ID=1014

*CEI Applauds End of US Support for Kyoto Protocol

www.cei.org/PRReader.asp?ID=1419

*The Costs of Kyoto www.cei.org/books/costsofkyoto.html

*Public Interest Group Hails Supreme Court Snuff-Out of FDA Tobacco

Regs

www.cei.org/PRReader.asp?ID=941

 

6. John Carlisle, National Center for Public Policy Research:

*U.S.D.A. Organic Food Labels Are Misleading - 5/00

www.nationalcenter.org/PROrganicFood500.html

*Biotechnology: Putting an End to World Hunger - June 2000

www.nationalcenter.org/NPA289.html

*Bush Must Kill Kyoto Global Warming Treaty & Stop Congressional

Efforts to Regulate CO2 www.nationalcenter.org/NPA328.html

*The Federal Tobacco Lawsuit is Bad Economics, Bad Law & Bad Governing

www.nationalcenter.org/PRFederalTobaccoSuit999.html

 

April 2001

 

 

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