107 Nobel laureates sign letter blasting Greenpeace over GMOs

[Humanist_Activist]

20. Yeah, what I really can't stand are those who discard the tools we have because they...

make them "uncomfortable" and that is really what the issue is. Had someone tell me straight up that he opposes GMOs because he doesn't want fish DNA in his tomatoes. That particular product doesn't exist, but its exclusively the "ick" factor, and is completely irrational.

I mean, in this case, we are talking about tackling one acute problem, Vitamin A deficiency in parts of the developing world. These are people that, by and large, get enough calories to survive, but not enough Vitamin A to prevent deficiency problems, such as blindness and even death.

Now, supplement programs help, but require good, preexisting infrastructure to have a large impact, and distribution has been inadequate. Fortifying programs would also help, if there is enough infrastructure and distribution available, which there is not. So some scientists came up with an idea to supplement and replace staple crops in certain areas of the world with crops modified to overproduce beta-carotene, hopefully enough to provide the population with the much needed Vitamin A they require in their diet. The problem is, particularly with Golden Rice, is two fold. Version 1 didn't produce enough beta-carotene, but was more a proof of concept, and because of Greenpeace and other misguided activists, the field trials for Version 2 have been inadequate, and the research slowed down, hampered and, in some cases, sabotaged.

Same resistance is also happening for beta carotene fortified Bananas that, hopefully will alleviate Vitamin A deficiency in Uganda. The opposition to it is just as ridiculous. Anti-GMO activists even protested the trial to test whether the bananas increase Vitamin A in the body, which was conducted at an American university. Think about how stupid that is. Not even safety(they know its safe) but testing the effectiveness of a GMO banana, apparently that get too far.

This is one area where I think GMOs can be a literal lifesaver, yet we have ignorant people who fear science and hence hamper progress.