Jane Goodall supports GM Free Me

Taking action to ensure a better future is the thing that gives us hope, says renowned primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace, Jane Goodall. We are so pleased to have her support for our UK campaign.

October 20, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Jane goodall_fix

“I well remember how horrified I felt when I learned that scientists had succeeded in reconfiguring the genetics of plants and animals.”

“The first genetically engineered (GE) plants were created in the 1980s, but I did not hear about them until the 1990s when they were first commercialized.”

“It seemed a shocking corruption of the life forms of the planet, and it was not surprising that many people were as appalled as I was – and that these altered organisms became known as ‘Frankenfoods’.”

“In fact, there were good science-based reasons to mistrust the new foods; yet GE crops have spread throughout North America and several other parts of the world. How has this come about?”

Timely support

These words were written by Jane Goodall in her introduction to the book Altered Genes, Twisted Truth, which tells the sordid history of how GMOs came to be approved as food and feed in the US and from there the rest of the world.

We were lucky enough to meet with Jane this year when she took an unprecedented break in her punishing schedule to come to London and attended the media launch for for the book, which our organisation, Beyond GM, organised.

Her support of GM Free Me is welcome, especially at a time when the future of GMOs in the UK and the rest of Europe is so uncertain. Yes, may EU Member States are taking the first tentative steps towards opting out of growing GMOs. But we have a long way and many legal hoops to jump through before Europe can really declare itself GM free.

The key to any success in this matter lies in public involvement. Although the majority of people in the UK oppose GMOS, their voices are not heard. They are not represented in the media, they are harangued in public debates and they are so disillusioned with politics that, when we first launched our campaign, MPs confided in us that they rarely if ever received mail from constituents on the issue of GMOs.

Our Letter from America has changed all that – generating hundreds of letters to MPs. If you haven’t used the Letter website to send a copy of this compelling document to your MP we urge you to do so. And if you really want to be seen you can mail a copy of your GM Free Me photo to your MP as well. That’s what this site is all about. Making the opposing to GMOs in the UK undeniable and visible.

An element of risk

In endorsing the GM Free Me campaign Jane notes the huge schism between what companies have to tell regulators in order to get GMO patented and what they tell the public in order to pass them off as ’safe’

“Those who create genetically modified plants spend a lot of time and money proving that these plants are substantially different from their non-GMO parents in order to obtain a (money making) patent. And then they turn around to convince the public that they are substantially equal to the non-GMO parent plants so that the food is therefore safe for consumption and will not require expensive and time consuming testing. This is not only manipulative but unethical”
Her own doubts on the safety of GMOS are based on what animal testing has shown sus so far:

“It seems that GMOs have an element of risk for all animals so far tested – thus it would be absurd to think that human beings would be immune.”

Hope for the future

In an exclusive video interview for Beyond GM Jane talks not just about the anger she feels that the human species can be so foolish, but she also talks about her hope for the future.

Much of this is inspired by her Roots & Shoots programme, a global youth-led community action program, comprised of thousands of young people who have been inspired by Jane to make the world a better place. In the UK there is a Roots & Shoots teachers resource that provides educators with ideas and activities to inspire the next generation.

We so appreciate Jane’s support and hope in inspires you to join our growing national campaign. The more of us who engage and speak up, the harder it will be for our government to push it’s pro-GMO agenda through, endangering our farms, our food system and our future.

 

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