Madam, 

An article in your paper (Aug 26th) reported that an international conference on agricultural biotechnology in Cork heard calls from representatives of Teagasc for a more “open, transparent and inclusive” debate on the merits of genetically modified foods. 

As a Green Party public representative with a strong interest in the issue of GM, I would welcome such a debate. However, nothing I have read about the conference in Cork would suggest that the debate was inclusive or balanced. 

In fact, Professor Patrick Cunningham, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government is reported to have spoken at the conference of the “urgency of the development and application of the technology on the one hand, and fear of change on the other”. 

In my opinion, Professor Cunningham does a great dis-service to those who continue to raise concerns about this relatively new, and as yet not fully understood technology. In fact, the urgency of which the professor speaks has been generated by large multi-national biotechnology companies who see enormous commercial opportunities in the immediate application of this technology, regardless of its prematurity. 

Many of the risk assessments of new GM products have been carried out  by these same biotech companies, and their findings largely accepted by regulatory bodies such as the European Food and Safety Authority who currently lack the resources to carry out their own independent studies. 

Proponents of GM also regularly make sweeping statements about the safety of these products as far as human health is concerned. Unfortunately they make these claims in the absence of any reliable body of longitudinal studies into the health effects of consuming GM foods over a lifetime. A growing body of research does suggest that GM foods have very negative health impacts for human beings, including organ failure and allergic responses amongst others. 

While it is extremely important that scientific progress is not inhibited, the danger of pushing GM technology on an unwilling public in the face of very real and legitimate concerns about its health and environmental impacts must be recognised.

We must have a full and open debate about the issue of GM in this country but please – let it be balanced and not just a propaganda exercise for the biotech multi-nationals. 

Yours etc

Senator Deirdre de Burca

Green Party Spokesperson on Health and Children

Filed under:
Health and Children, Press Release by Deirdre