Nobel laureate: EU politicians bow to uninformed public in opposing biotech crops

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Sir Richard Roberts is an English biochemist and molecular biologist. A Nobel Laureate, he is the signatory of the 100+ Nobel Laureates letter supporting… GMOs.

He spoke with EurActiv’s Sarantis Michalopoulos.

. . . .

How do you explain the fact that so many Europeans reject GMOs? …

Since Europe didn’t need GMOs and in general were suspicious of big agri-business, it became easy for Green parties, notably Greenpeace, to conflate the two issues, which they did.

. . . .

It worked and was hugely profitable to Greenpeace both in terms of fundraising and gaining political power. And best of all, there was no real cost to the European consumer.

. . . .

The EU claims to rely on scientific evidence for its decision-making. …it also strives for democratic inclusiveness… taking on board the views of a high number of stakeholders. What is the right balance?

…EU politicians support a great deal of scientific research and yet they often don’t pay attention to the results if they are politically unwelcome.

…The issue of balance is a reasonable one, but it does mean that the politicians and their staff need to be more careful about just who they listen to.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Nobel Laureate: EU politicians ignore ‘politically unwelcome’ GMO science

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