Friday, January 13, 2006

Jeffrey M. Smith, Seeds of Deception, Noseweek

For anyone who hasn't heard of
Jeffrey M. Smith, he's a global leader in the fight against GMO's in our food supply. He wrote a best seller, Seeds of Deception, an expose of the GMO industry, which should be required reading everywhere.

Jeffrey Smith has been touring the world, tirelessly fighting GMO's, writing, lecturing, giving interviews, debating, etc. He's a true hero. Lately, he's been in South Africa, where South African investigative magazine Noseweek ran a five-page interview

Excerpt from the Noseweek Interview:

Noseweek: Scientists representing the biotech industry claim that GM foods have been extensively tested and are safe. They say that anti-GM campaigners like you are unscientific and base their arguments on emotion. Can you comment?

J M Smith: A recently published linguistic analysis of biotech advocates concludes what many of us have observed for years. Using unscientific, emotional, and even irrational arguments, GM proponents attack critics as unscientific, emotional and irrational. In reality, critics demand more science, not less. We demand facts, not PR hype.

From Jeffrey Smiths' newsletter,

Spilling the Beans:


J M Smith: Hans Lombard, a public relations consultant for the biotech industry, wrote a rebuttal to Noseweek that was pure industry spin. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to respond. Both his letter and a condensed version of mine were published side by side in their January issue. The magazine put my full response on its website.

(Here is) the text of Lombard’s letter, broken up so that I can respond to each accusation. As this is quite long, it will be sent in three parts over a few days. If you prefer to read the whole thing at once, it is posted at Seeds of Deception.

The shortened version that was published is available with graphics and photos.

Excerpt from Jeffrey Smiths rebuttal to Hans Lombard's letter:

Hans Lombard: GMO Food Safer Than Conventional: Allegations by Jeffrey Smith of 'dangers and health risks' to humans and animals posed by GMO food in the article: 'Rammed Down Our Throats, Noseweek, September 2005' are blatant lies. Shocking, misleading information with no substantiated scientific evidence.

What he failed to tell us is that his so-called 'best seller' book condemning GMO crops which he hawked around South Africa has not received the backing of any academy of science or medicine, any faculty of agriculture/science, or any agricultural research institute anywhere in the world.

J M Smith: Hans Lombard, a public relations man paid to 'hawk' GM foods around South Africa, provides a superb example of industry spin. He attacks so-called 'lies' and 'misleading information' using nonexistent safety tests that passed with flying colors, false attributions to national academies and unsupported safety claims. It is a pleasure to respond to these accusations.

'So-called' best seller without 'backing'... Seeds of Deception is the world’s bestselling book on GM foods and rated number one on the subject by the
Ecologist. It documents attempted bribes, fired and threatened scientists, hijacked regulatory agencies, cover-ups, rigged research, and the ways in which industry manipulation and political collusion got genetically modified (GM) foods approved. It also explains why the foods threaten our health.

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