Re: Irish Scientist demands that ANTI GM food group remove lies from their webpage
The following press release issued by Shane Morris suggests he has never heard of protesting too much!
It's particularly revealing that in the name of defending "Irish free speech" Morris is now demanding that information not to his liking be removed from an Irish website (see below).
GM Watch would like to emphasise that it stands 100% by its statements that both the material posted to date on Morris's weblog and his past history indicate that his repeated claims of being non-partisan in the GM debate are intentionally misleading.
This is demonstrated, in particular, by Shane Morris's former close working relationship with the biotech-propagandist Douglas Powell at the Center for Safe Food at the University of Guelph in Canada, and by Morris's co-authorship with Powell of material that has been condemned as offensive propaganda.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6317
http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=257
The activities of the Center for Safe Food, later known as the Food Safety Network, are also known to have benefitted from extensive sponsorship from the biotechnology industry.
http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=257
In these circumstances, it is perhaps understandable that Morris is so concerned to have information about his background suppressed in Ireland.
In addition, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for which Morris subsequently worked - and, it is thought, still works - also has a reputation for being partisan on food safety and regulatory matters.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6321
It's also revealing that Shane Morris attacks GM Watch by quoting information about the JMG Foundation - a former funder of GM Watch - which Morris has taken from a website (see the url Morris gives below) operated by the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (CDFE).
Although CDFE, just like Morris, describes itself as "non-partisan", its Executive Vice President, Ron Arnold, is in fact a former consultant for Dow Chemical, who has openly stated that his aim is "to destroy the environmental movement".
http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=248
This is where the non-partisan Mr Morris gets his information!
Morris's ludicrous attempt to link GM Watch to some kind of anti-Irish sentiment is equally risible. As it happens, a more recent funder of GM Watch than the JMG Foundation has been the Columban Missionaries - a Roman Catholic organisation of missionary priests, sisters and laity - who have their base in Co Meath in Ireland.
http://www.columban.com
In fact, Morris's partisan background and behaviour in Canada, where he still appears to work and have his principal base, make his attempts to portray himself as a non-partisan champion of Irish interests particularly incredible.
For our previous comments on Shane Morris's claims, see:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6317
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6321
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Irish Scientist demands that ANTI GM food group remove lies from their webpage Press Release, March 9, 2006
An Irish scientist who is running a web-blog http://www.gmoireland.blogspot.com/ on the facts of GM food and not the spin today had lies and misinformation published on the website of the Irish ANTI GM food group http://www.GMfreeireland.org.
Shane Morris, who is an Irish GM food expert, was singled out and targeted by the ANTI GMO campaign with lies. Mr. Morris, who is a Canadian public servant, had started his public web-blog after reading scientific misinformation in the Irish media. Mr. Morris has researched and published many scientific papers on the issue of GM crops and has regulated biotechnology derived products.
In responding to the posting Mr. Morris stated, "This is a new low that has been reached by the Irish ANTI GMO campaign. The use of lies and misinformation is a tactic usually used by large biotech multinationals. It is clear the ANTI GM movement in Ireland cannot be trusted to give the facts to the Irish public."
In addition Mr. Morris suggested that "Michael O'Callaghan who runs the Irish anti GM website should live up to the standards he proclaims he represents and remove the attacking citations, especially after the British anti GM food group that published them offered to make corrections. The Irish public deserves better unless he sees no problems in spreading lies in Ireland".
Mr. Morris believes the attack comes as result of his work in reviewing, along with some international scientists, the scientific claims that are currently been used by GMfreeireland.org to convince the Irish public of the some called food risks with GM food.
Mr. Morris ran the first Irish public debate on GM food in 1998 as a graduate at the University of Limerick. He has studied and published internationally recognized and award winning papers on the issue of GM food and public perceptions. He has never received corporate funding from biotechnology companies.
Mr. Morris also stated that, "I have already received some "shut up and be quiet" letters as a result of the posting. It is clear that some people don’t want the facts to come out but no-one has ownership of the science and no-one will keep me quiet on the facts. "
The misinformation was put together by GM watch, a UK based group funded by the JMG Foundation, a foundation not for public factual information but "an anti corporate foundation that helps aggressives campaigns to destroy biotech crop production worldwide". (See http://www.eskimo.com/~4janet/jmg_foundation.htm ) JMG, short for Sir James Michael Goldsmith, the late billionaire husband of the daughter of an anti-Irish Unionist English Viscount, the 8th Marquess of Londonderry (Londonderry in Northern Ireland is called Derry until the English occupiers renamed it!!), would seem to be attempting to stifle Irish free speech.