Although originally written some 8 years ago now, Robert Vint's piece below continues to be remarkably relevant, not least as the U.S. continues to aggressively promote GMOs while dragging its heels on meaningful action on climate change.
One point to add is that there are many others who could be added to Robert's list of overlapping GMO advocates and human-induced climate change deniers. For instance, in the UK, obvious candidates include the:
*Scientific Alliance - director: the former Dupont lobbyist Martin Livermore
*various lobby groups associated with Julian Morris, Roger Bate and Kendra Okonski (eg the International Policy Network, Institute of Economic Affairs, the European Science and Environment Forum)
*LM network, which includes Spiked Online and the Institute of Ideas, and which has key place-people in science-media lobby groups like Sense About Science, which has been remarkably quiet on the climate issue yet claims to be a leading defender of sound science.
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 gets big bucks from ExxonMobil to attack action on climate change.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5156
Other keen GM advocates and climate change skeptics include the American Enterprise Institute, the Heartland Institute, the Reason Foundation, the Cato Institute, the Hudson Institute and the mother of all U.S. right-wing think tanks and wise use groups, Ron Arnold's Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise.
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/listorganizations.php
Leading climate-change deniers, the George C. Marshall Institute has the well known GM advocate Henry I. Miller as a member of its scientific advisory board. Another GM advocacy group underplaying the threat of climate change is the American Council on Science and Health, amongst whose advisors are Miller again, CS Prakash of AgBioWorld fame (see below), and Dennis Avery (see below).
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=8
An interesting point, of course, is that when it comes to GM crops, the GM lobbyists accuse their critics of not kow towing to what they claim is the scientific mainstream. 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?
Robert Vint
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 (Organiser of the UK 'Seeds of Opportunity Conference' with the U.S embassy) [His disciples include Dominic Lawson]
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 [Dennis Avery has since published with Fred Singer the book: Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1500 Years)
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 CS Prakash's AgBioWorld campaign which has the biggest pro-GM listserv]
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 [and a former Monsanto 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