In a Non-GMO FB group ( https://facebook/groups/Nongmoarmy/ ) I just copied and pasted the following response to a person (troll?) who was "in ag" and pro-GMO. I was quite impressed by the cohesiveness of his argument and the skill with which he presented it. " It is naïve of anyone to accept the merits of so-called ‘scientific proof’ when the testing (i.e. that testing accepted as ‘authoritative’ by the regulating agencies, and thus so commonly cited) is being conducted by the same companies who produce (and thus profit from) GMOs, and particularly when those responsible for such deregulation were either former executives of, or attorneys for, the companies they are supposed to regulate. One cannot ignore the obvious. In so brazen an assumption then as to cite such ‘scientific proof’, you invalidate the credibility of anything else you might offer up as argument on behalf of GMOs. Let us not forget that once self regulated testing began, findings (even by their own scientists) which revealed GMOs as being unsafe and which did not promote the company’s agenda were repressed and, in at least one notable instance involving one of the foremost authorities on the subject, the scientists fired for making public their finding. But we need not get lost in the pros and cons of point/counterpoint. There is something far more relevant which, by simplicity of its nature, renders all such discourse rather moot … There is an underlying truth which you are conveniently overlooking in your arguments, as does the industry. For more than ample reason, the public simply does not want GMOs. Nor do we want having them foisted upon us without our consent or awareness. ‘Free market’ does not give rights to ‘forced market’, and that is what is happening here for want of special interests. The only people who support GMOs are those who are making money from them, and they have repeatedly proven that they are willing to promote their financial objectives over any concerns for the public’s wishes (let alone its well being or health). The underhanded tactics of companies such as Monsanto are blatant testimony to this fact, and in your above discourse you have verified your willing alignment with this agenda, even if for no other reason than seeing it as being practical in the industry. Little wonder then that you do not refer to yourself as a farmer, but as ‘being in the Ag business’ (implied by your statement “I’m in Ag”), and thus reveal why you are blind to the fact that you are a part of the problem. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to justify, condone, and even support atrocities great or small when one is heavily invested in the processes. None the less, in such a position, even turning the blind eye is complicitous. I do not speak against your qualities as a person, nor would I even if I knew you, but we must all be accountable for our actions and decisions and the impact they have on others. If indeed you are a farmer, it is by your own choice if you grow GMO crops and not natural, and you do it for one or two reasons: either for refusing to stand up against pressure brought by the agri-bio industry, or you are in it for the money. These things said, I cannot escape the ironic humor of the obvious. How apropos that at the end of your above comment you put a financial value on your opinion, and state its worth as being only two cents. You fall the self-revealed victim to your own choice of cliché."
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 03:56:16 +0000