An influential Roman Catholic church body has endorsed genetically modified crops as a way to help feed the world’s poor.
After holding a study week on the issue in May, the Pontifical Academy for Sciences unanimously concluded that GM crops offer improved food safety and security, health benefits and enhanced sustainability and are “praiseworthy” for improving the lives of the poor.
The Vatican has yet to adopt an official stance on genetic modification and it is unclear how much clout the Pontifical Academy for Sciences has in that regard, but the makers of GM crops see it as a step forward in the increased acceptance of the technology.
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“Well reasoned support for agricultural biotechnology is always helpful,” said Monsanto Canada spokesperson Trish Jordan.
The group intends to follow up the study week with a global or regional implementation program. If the conclusions prompt the Vatican to adopt a pro-GM crop stance, it would be a coup for the industry because the Catholic church represents about one-sixth of the world’s population.
“It is large and therefore represents the values of many people within its membership, so of course we value and respect their opinions, as well as valuing the opportunity to have dialogue with them around agricultural biotechnology and the benefits it can bring to farmers and to addressing the world’s need for food,” Jordan said.
The United Church of Canada adopted a policy in 2005 calling on the federal government to refrain from pushing the technology on nations that don’t want it or have yet to adopt a regulatory framework governing the use of GM crops.
One of Monsanto’s employees was invited to attend the Pontifical Academy for Sciences’ five-day conference but did not participate because the company was wary of creating the impression that biotech advocates were controlling the seminar.
However, that was the message that activist groups such as SpinWatch delivered to the public anyway. The British non-profit organization that monitors the role of public relations, propaganda and lobbying called the study week “a total farce,” claiming it was hijacked by the GM crop lobby.
SpinWatch said the 41 speakers invited to the conference were all pro-biotechnology and that the event was organized by Ingo Potrykus, co-inventor of Golden Rice, a GM rice that is rich in Vitamin A.
“Objectivity is the last thing anyone should expect from these ‘experts,’ ” said SpinWatch spokesperson David Miller.
In his written introduction to the conference, Potrykus, whose Golden Rice project has met with opposition from environmental groups, chastised governments for delaying adoption of the technology.
“The regulatory process in place is bureaucratic and unwarranted by science.”
Potrykus said the process has to change from one of “extreme precaution” to one driven by science-based principles.
“If we are to rescue agricultural biotechnology in its broadest form for the underprivileged, we have to change societal attitudes including regulatory attitudes to GMOs.”
According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, GM crops were planted on 309 million acres in 25 countries in 2008.
“Every year you’ve got more countries looking at it, more countries accepting of it, you’ve got trillions of meals that have been consumed that contain biotech ingredients,” Jordan said.
