by Ben Nuelle
An advocacy group against GMOs raises concerns about who funded the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine GE crops study. Food and Water Watch, a D.C. food advocacy group says they?re skeptical about a recent NAS study on GMOs.
Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch says NAS is under the influence of big Ag corporations.
?We decided to go look at who was on this committee that put out this most recent one released yesterday. About half of that committee had some connection to the industry that makes GMOs. They do research with industry funding or have developed a GMO and have a patent or consult for the industry. The NRC or [National Research Council] is not good about disclosing that and we wanted to make sure that got out there.?
According to the NAS website, the federal government funds about 85 percent of NAS work. The rest is funded internally or by foundations.
NAS Committee chair Fred Gould says they hope the GE- crops report is not just a big scholarly article but a conversation starter.
?What I mean is a real conversation. There are a lot of talking points that go around. All the way around from both sides and we?re pretty tired of that. We want to see a real conversation and I think it would be really nice if people find things wrong with our report would confront us with the details. It would be nice not to have a debate but an eight-hour discussion.?
The report concluded GE crops are safe to eat but also says GE Crops do not necessarily increase crop yield.
