Greenpeace's longstanding, unwarranted, and vicious opposition to vitamin A-fortified rice has led to tens of thousands of deaths.
Greenpeace
Technology has helped to double food production in the last 50 years. We have the cheapest, safest, most abundant food supply in history, but the enemies of progress, both foreign and domestic, continue to attack the technologies that have made that possible.
The Philippines has finally approved Golden Rice, a genetically engineered crop designed to combat vitamin A deficiency. Greenpeace, never content to let evidence guide its agenda, has trotted out some mealymouthed justifications to urge regulators to reverse the decision.
Vitamin-A deficiency around the world leads to between 250,000 and 500,000 children going blind – every single year. Half of them die within a year of losing their sight. Meanwhile, Golden Rice – a genetically-modified seed than can deliver this essential vitamin – is still not being used in impoverished nations. Here's a look at this pressing issue.
An agency in Bangladesh announced that life-saving Golden Rice has passed trials in contained facilities and will soon move on to open-field tests. If all goes well, the crop will finally be approved for farmers to grow. It's been a long fight to receive approval, but success now appears to be at hand.
Greenpeace really loves bees so much that they regularly hold bee die ins where they dress up in bee costumes and lie on the ground to be sprayed by faux pesticides. Environmental activists have also given eulogies and
Patrick Moore was instrumental in the founding of GreenPeace, and held high positions until he broke with the group in the 1980 s over policy decisions. Since then Moore has been an outspoken critic of the organization for losing touch with its initial science mission. This week, Moore posted a video on youtube in which he describes his reasons for leaving, and how GreenPeace is now doing more harm than good for the world.
A New York Post op-ed calls out songwriter and activist Neil Young for his misguided beliefs about sound agricultural practices, specifically his loud-mouthed (but widely heard) ignorance about GMO technology and its potential for saving lives threatened by malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies.
Yet another prominent anti-GMO advocate has come forward to publicly announce that he has reassessed his opinion on GMOs. Earlier this year, the co-founder of Greenpeace, Dr. Patrick Moore, did likewise, calling the campaign against genetic science baseless. Following shortly thereafter was Mark Lynas, who penned a New York Times op-ed titled How I Got Converted to GMO food this past
Newsweek s recent cover story puts it bluntly: YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG ABOUT GENETICALLY ALTERED FOOD. And author Tom Parrett eloquently explains why in his article: GMO Scientists Could Save the World From Hunger, If We Let Them.
Dr. Patrick Moore, who co-founded Greenpeace in 1970, parted ways with the organization in 1986 due to philosophical differences. These differences could not be more clear, certainly with regard to GMOs, and especially Golden Rice. (It should be noted that Greenpeace is perhaps the most formidable opponent of Golden Rice.)
Golden Rice, a genetically engineered crop enriched with beta-carotene which the body can then convert to vitamin A, has the potential to prevent blindness in populations prone to vitamin A deficiency. The WHO