BOISE—British environmentalist Mark Lynas explained to several hundred people in Boise May 19 how he switched from being a pie-throwing, anti-GMO activist to a supporter of genetically engineered crops.
Lynas showed video clips of him helping fan the flames of the anti-GMO movement in Europe during the mid-1990s.
That included him throwing a pie in the face of a GMO supporter, as well as helping dozens of other people destroy genetically engineered crop trials.
The presentation was hosted by Food Producers of Idaho and titled, “GMOs are green. How an environmentalist changed his mind about biotechnology.”
“Our aim was to chop down ... all the GM crop trials we could (in) England,” Lynas said. “This was an activity that consumed my life for several years. I was involved in all aspects of the movement.”
Lynas even orchestrated the first invasion by anti-GMO activists of Monsanto offices in the United Kingdom, which resulted in them occupying the building, trashing the company’s files and hanging banners from its windows.
Lynas then showed a video clip of him apologizing for his involvement in the anti-GMO movement during the 2013 Oxford Farming Conference.
During that conference, he said he was “very sorry I helped start the anti-GM movement in the 1990s. I now regret it completely.”
Lynas offered several examples of how genetically engineered crops can help farmers in Africa and India but have been banned in large part because of the anti-GMO movement.
“The humanitarian aspect of this ... whole issue is really lost from the debate,” he said.
He said 88 percent of scientists believe genetically modified foods are safe because that’s what the evidence says and the opposition to genetically engineered crops is based mostly on fear and emotion.
“The science is quite clear. There isn’t much room for dispute about the safety issue,” he said.
To believe genetically engineered foods are unsafe is to disagree with the scientific evidence and believe in a conspiracy theory, he said.
“You have to believe all of those thousands of scientists are in league with ... Monsanto,” he said.
Lynas later told the Capital Press his conversion began when he realized his claims about GMO technology were all based on what other activists were saying and not on scientific evidence.
“I just realized I didn’t have any scientific foundation or validity for what I was saying,” he said.
The crowd included people who oppose the use of genetically engineered crops and many of them lined up to ask questions following the presentation.
FPI Chairman Travis Jones thanked skeptics of GMO technology for taking the time to step out of their comfort zone and learn more about the issue.
“We appreciate your courage for being here among people you may not normally be accustomed to being with,” he said.
Jones later said FPI held the event in downtown Boise rather than in rural Idaho “because we need to engage with an audience that may not think just like us.”
Source: www.capitalpress.com