Dear Sir

In the Journal on 6 October, Mr O'Reilly makes the carefully worded statement that GM foods have not been scientifically proven to harm animals or humans. With the massive casualty lists associated with 'starlink corn' and L-Tryptophan food supplement, it appears that the standards Mr O'Reilly applies to scientifically prove guilt are infinitely more rigorous than those he regards as being sufficient to demonstrate safety.

Phill Angel, when he was Monsanto's Director of Corporate Communication (US) stated: 'Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food, our interest is to sell as much as possible, assuring safety is the FDA's job' (New York Times, 25 October 1998).

However, the FDA employs the self fulfilling prophecy of regarding GMOs as being safe and, therefore, do not safety test.

Irish agriculture is becoming increasingly reliant on products from this dysfunctionally regulated US market. Who in this set-up is serious about defending the vital interests of Irish farmers and those of our customers on whom we rely to actively seek out Irish products on the market shelves and who are the ultimate drivers of the Irish agricultural economy?

Nick Cullen
Ballysax
The Curragh, Co Kildare.
Comment by GM-free Ireland

A few years ago, during a live radio debate between Monsanto Ireland CEO Patrick O'Reilly and GM-free Ireland co-ordinator Michael O'Callaghan, the Monsanto man not only denied the existence of scientific evidence about the health and environmental risks of GM food and crops, but actually denied that GMO crops are modified by the introduction of DNA from foreign species including viruses, bacteria, plants and animals! Monsanto's concept of truth has no relation to reality.