Letter
#4
2006/February/10
Scientists and science journalists of the new generation of „science communication", especially agrobiotech-scientists have many similar properties. If you look at websites of ISAAA* and TransGen, you may realize that they are constructed according a similar pattern as it has been turned out by Apicultural Review Letters:"If human beings spoke only about that what they conceive, thus it would be very quiet on earth". (Albert Einstein)„Errors of science need 50 years until they are being replaced by new cognitions because not only the elder university professors but also their students need to die out." (Max Planck)
ISAAA-scientists say the most obvious untruths straight out, and with an assuredness that weak and indecisively persons, who before not fully intend on maintaining their own opinion, as it is the duty of each mature man (and woman), may even fall into temptation to think different. For instance is the ISAAA’s mission
„to contribute to poverty alleviation by facilitating the transfer of appropriate crop biotechnology applications to developing countries". It is a truism that cultivating modified crops by agro-biotechnolgy results in an increase of poverty and hunger in developing countries as well as an increase of prices for uncontaminated, not genetically modified food. ISAAA-scientists speak of „safe application of crop biotechnology" Also this statement is a dramatic untruth, because final negative side-effects for consumers and environment can’t be excluded [1].
„ISAAA's mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation, by increasing crop productivity and income generation, particularly for resource-poor farmers, and to bring about a safer environment and more sustainable agricultural development ... ISAAA provides advice and services to assist in the development of an enabling environment to support the safe application of crop biotechnology. ... ISAAA believes that this mission can be best achieved by facilitating the transfer of appropriate crop biotechnology applications to developing countries" [2]
That is a bit thick being such an honor nowadays to tell something wrong. The statistics on cultivation of genetically modified crops in the world 2006 - mainly praised by ISAAA itself - is working with wrong data. For instance Germany had cultivated in 1995 only 345 hectaria genetically modified crops for scientific purposes (Greenpeace, FAZ Nr. #11/2006, p.4) and not 50.000 as it is wrongly maintained by ISAAA. In the same way all the other country statistics may be completely wrong.
„There were 21 countries planting 50,000 hectares or more to biotech crops in 2005. These mega-countries included the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Paraguay, India, South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Mexico, Romania, the Philippines, Spain, Colombia, Iran, Honduras, Portugal, Germany, France, and the Czech Republic ... The initiative „aims to build capacity in national programs by establishing a network of Biotechnology Information Centers (BICs) to facilitate sound decision-making in all aspects relating to the safe use of these crops and their potential contribution to food security, poverty reduction, and environmental conservation. ... ISAAA’s commitment to sharing knowledge is evidenced in its well-received series of ISAAA Briefs and The Annual Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops conducted by ISAAA annually since 1996. The latter has become accepted internationally as the authoritative reference on the global deployment of commercialized genetically modified (GM) crops, and these valuable reviews will continue to be published and widely distributed by ISAAA to monitor the global deployment of GM crops in the first decade of the 21st century." [3]
The only science journalists who believe in ISAAA are those who are of the same kidney as Mr. Christian Schwägerl or Mr. Joachim Müller-Jung. Quite a number of people think everything were reasonably, if it is done with a serious face or if it is being found on a seriously configured website. For instance if it is spoken with wholehearted words about a: „Board of Directors" and list of „Donors and fellowship donors".
After accurate examination you’ll find a lot of emty phrases but hardly any reasonably sentence on ISAAA-website. That can be confirmed by each more sensible human being. Who does not realize it must have had either a bad education or once got a blow on the head, by what the bridge between this sentence and the applause is collapsed.
"The activities of ISAAA are guided by an international Board of Directors that oversees programmatic, organizational, and policy strategies. The Board consists of prominent individuals representing developing and industrialized countries, public and private sectors, and various professional interest groups, particularly those concerned with protecting the environment. Board of Directors: Clive James (Chair), Canada; Paul S. Teng, Singapore (Vice Chair); W. Ronnie Coffman (Secretary), USA; Gabrielle J. Persley, Australia/UK; Wallace Beversdorf (Treasurer), Switzerland; Anderson Galvao Gomes, Brazil; Richard B. Flavell, USA; Jennifer Thomson, South Africa; Vo-Tong Xuan, Vietnam; Randy A. Hautea (ex officio member, ISAAA Global Coordinator), Philippines" [4]
And who is directly or indirectly concerned with the whole agro-biotechnology-swindle by finanzial donors? As is well-known not only firms like Monsanto, Bayer crop science, Nestle, Novartis, Syngenta, Schering, KWS Kleinwanzlebener Saatzucht AG, USDA, but also development aid organisations like United States Agency for International Development (USAID), USA; Gemeinschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Germany; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Bundesministerium fur wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (BMZ/GTZ),Germany. Even "ISAAA Board Members" have financed the swindle on their own initiative!
„Since its founding ISAAA has been cosponsored by a donor support group consisting of public and private sector institutions, listed below." A selction of Donors according ISAAA-Website: ACIAR, Australia; AgrEvo, Germany; Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSP II), USA; Atlantic Philanthropic Service, USA; AusAID, Australia (formerly AIDAB); Bayer CropScience, Germany; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC),UK; Bundesministerium fur wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (BMZ/GTZ),Germany; Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Denmark Department of Agriculture, Philippines; DuPont, USA; Fondazione Bussolera Branca, Italy; Gatsby Charitable Foundation, UK; Gemeinschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Germany; Hitachi Foundation, Japan/USA; International Academy of the Environment, Switzerland; International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada; Mahyco Research Foundation, India; McKnight Foundation, USA; Monsanto Company, USA; Monsanto Fund, USA; National Agriculture and Fishery Council, Philippines; Nestle, Switzerland; Novartis Seeds, Switzerland; PCARRD-DOST, Philippines; Pioneer Hi-Bred International, USA; SEAMEO SEARCA, Philippines; Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden; Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Sweden; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland; Syngenta, Switzerland; The Rabobank, the Netherlands; The Rockefeller Foundation, USA; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); United States Agency for International Development (USAID), USA; USDA, USA [5].
A selction of Fellowship Donors according ISAAA-Website, 2006/01/27: Bayer CropScience, Germany; Cargill Seeds, USA; Clive and Glenys James, Canada; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico a Tecnologic (CNPQ), Brazil; Contributions from ISAAA Board Members;Dow AgroSciences, USA; East-West Seed Company; Gatsby Charitable Foundation, UK; Gemeinschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Germany; KWS Kleinwanzlebener Saatzucht AG, Germany; Monsanto, USA; Schering AG (Institut fur Genbiologische Forschung Berlin), Germany; The Rockefeller Foundation, USA; William Brown Fellowship/Resources Development Foundation, USA
Did you ever met an agro-biotechnologist who had a good idea? They talk about something but they are not thinking. In most cases they have rarely more light in their heads as it is necessary to see that it is empty. ISAAA also wants prima facie to be an expert on food-safety. The following hot air is pretty much the only one on ISAAA-Website of this topic:
„The ISAAA Food Safety Initiative builds institutional capacity in the development and operation of effective food safety review and approval systems, with emphasis on harmonized regulations across regions. It will expand its current initiative by increasingly emphasizing capacity building for regulators in national programs and by communicating authoritative information on food safety to the general public through these national programs. This is a timely initiative, for consumers in Asia are becoming more aware of genetically modified crops and of food products derived from them. Such products are now available in many Asian countries, either as imports or as derived from domestically grown transgenic crops. Given its experience in this area, ISAAA believes that the initiative willcontribute in important ways to an on-going dialogue about the safety of genetically modified foods." [6]
It’s not worth to plough the sands, because a honest man may find the way out of this taradiddle if he can. Such soft unmeaning stuff about bio-safety and food safety was never read.
Agro-biotech-Lobbyists
(for instance ISAAA-scientists) appear in their outwardness to be rather
harmless, but as a matter of fact they belong to the most dangerous species
of people at all. A great scientist once had characterized this sort of
people: the most dangerous species of people for me are always the white-livered
and creeping feebles, who are good for everything and nothing, who, as
a certain species of useless dogs, jump over everybodies stick, who seem
to be incredible loyal and who always run away if you need them. Such people
are doing everything what that person wants them to do who shake the money
purse or the whip over their heads; and their faces, I have known several,
and I still feel alas, that I have known them, were either distorted by
an accommodatingly smile or hang gelatinously in front of their head, so
that you had in vain searched for expression in it, like organic structure
in a glass of water [7].
_______________
*)
International biotechnology-agency who has also many centers in developing
countries and whose aim is to spread genetically engineered seeds and other
biotech-products.
[1]
ISAAA-Website, 2006/01/27 aus: Apicultural Review Letters 2006,
5, No 11
[2]
Ibd.
[3]
Ibd.
[4]
Ibd.
[5]
Ibd.
[6]
Ibd.
[7]
Apicultural
Review Letters 2006, 5, No 11
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