SIRC Media Watch Archive
Articles of Note – November 1999
Protests based on butterfly lies. Protesters are cavorting around Seattle today wearing Monarch butterfly costumes. While the overall protest is about the World Trade Organization meeting in that city, the butterfly people are targeting the supposed evils of biotechnology. Specifically, they are relying on a study about how genetically modified corn kills the butterfly. Houston Chronicle
Ecoactivists go after wrong target. "Obviously if someone cannot tell the difference between a raspberry plant and a poplar tree, they're not doing too well environmentally." Seattle Times
A survey of four-year-olds, which is thought to be the most systematic of its kind, suggests that today's society has become more obsessed with components of a healthy diet, notably fat and sugar, than with the benefits of a balanced diet. Telegraph
A friend of mine once quipped: "Good health is a great treasure--I would gladly die for it." As the 20th century draws to a close, the cult of healthy living appears to be thriving throughout the advanced countries of the world, including the United States. Yomiuri Shimbun
Genetically-engineered bugs to go. The greatest "eco-warriors" of the next millennium could be genetically-engineered super-bugs which render waste harmless, the head of the Food Safety Authority, Dr Patrick Wall, said at the weekend. He told a seminar at the Macra na Féirme annual rally in Waterford that the GM debate had become so focused that no one wants to think of these genetically-engineered bugs as "the good guys". Irish Times
Public sponsors must follow ethical rules too. "I used to believe that public sponsors would allow the independent conduct of research, but experiences have taught me otherwise." BMJ
The real reasons for carbophobia? A new look a low-carb diets. The Onion
Catholic Church says 'yes' to GM food. "We are increasingly encouraged that the advantages of genetic engineering of plants and animals are greater than the risks. The risks should be carefully followed through openness, analysis and controls, but without a sense of alarm," said Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the pontifical academy. CNS / Observer
Monsanto has won a permanent permanent injunction banning the group GenetiX Snowball from damaging genetically modified crops. Reuters
But – it loses its GM pants. Reuters
A standard for the food agency To avoid sterile arguments about risk, the new agency should concentrate on establishing the scientific evidence, with clear explanations of the uncertainties. Outside the accepted guidelines of public health, the agency must resist the temptation to tell the people what to eat. Financial Times
Britons learn to have a jolly good time at last Express
Julian Morris suggests that environmentalists are wrong to oppose free trade in genetically modified organisms. An estimated 400m people worldwide suffer from vitamin A deficiency, mostly as a result of inadequate diets. In principle, this deficiency could be alleviated through the introduction of a recently developed variety of rice – but protests by environmentalists might prevent people in the developing world from ever growing or buying it. Financial Times.
Reports of monarch's death greatly exaggerated. The monarch butterfly was adopted as the symbol of resistance by anti-GM food campaigners after claims that genetically-altered corn might be killing America's favourite butterfly. Reports since suggest the threat, if it exists at all, is modest. Irish Times
Austria snubs GM crops as "forbidden fruit". Mistrust of genetically modified crops is spreading throughout Europe and is particularly rampant in Austria -- the European Union's champion organic farmer. Reuters
Cold showers are good for you - official. Cold showers and cold baths, which were part of the regular regime of Edwardian gentlemen, may be set for a comeback. Later generations have dismissed cold showers as a masochistic fetish designed to control sexual appetite. But now German doctors have found that immersion in cold water has beneficial effects on body chemistry. The Independent
From LM Magazine: Food panics are far worse for us than modern farming … and … The new consumer activism, carried out in the name of 'the People', is really elitist networking that thrives on political apathy.
High-Wire Acts: Electromagnetic Fields and "Junk Science". Recently the media have drawn attention to what may well be a new high, or low, in the annals of junk science: To jump-start the moribund hypothesis that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from power lines cause cancer, a government-funded scientist system-atically distorted data. American Council on Science and Health
Men are more likely than women to be influenced by reduced-fat content labels, according to a new study. Fed a low-fat, low-calorie lunch that was falsely labeled High Fat/High Calorie, the college-age men in the study reported less hunger and ate significantly fewer snacks later on than when they were fed the very same lunch correctly labeled Low Fat/Low Calorie. The women in the study ate the same amount of snacks regardless of the labeling or actual fat and calorie content of their lunch. Medical Tribune
Scientists and physicians associated with the American Council on Science and Health reject charges that milk and dairy products, the most widely used source of dietary calcium in the United States, are not healthful components of the American diet. In an updated report, Much Ado About Milk, ACSH reviews current scientific literature that supports the use of milk and dairy products to supply dietary calcium, as well as protein, magnesium and zinc. American Council on Science and Health
"Attempts to introduce genetically modified (GM) foods have stimulated, not a reasoned debate, but a potent negative campaign by people with other agendas who demonise the technology," Trewavas said in a commentary in the science journal Nature. Reuters
Emotive Claptrap! Hundreds of millions of people have eaten GM foods for several years without a whisper of a health problem. Yet we in the UK are still mired in a debate dominated by emotive claptrap such as Frankenstein foods and genetic pollution. Times Letter
Though genetically engineered bacteria today produce virtually all insulin for diabetics, nobody has taken to the streets in protest. When a genetically engineered tomato puree landed on the shelves in 1996, the most gene-averse public in Europe, the Brits, lapped it up because it tasted good. Things only began going wrong with the delivery of crop technology whose benefits were murky to the average consumer. Biotechnology won't be going away, so we better get used to thinking intelligently about it. Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Lewis Wolpert writes: "There are those in green and anti-GM movements who think that there is no real food shortage in the world, and that famine and hunger are due to grossly unfair distribution of food, and to war. But the best estimates are that the world's population will increase from 6 billion to 9 billion in the next 25 years, which will require food production almost to double."
A report by the government's Scientific Steering Committee has strongly criticised the pressure group Greenpeace. It says: "We were particular disappointed about statements made by Greenpeace claiming that the science was flawed, only days after an open seminar in London at which we presented the science case. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth were amongst a packed audience that day and neither found any defects in design or project methodology." BBC
Though genetically engineered bacteria today produce virtually all insulin for diabetics, nobody has taken to the streets in protest. When a genetically engineered tomato puree landed on the shelves in 1996, the most gene-averse public in Europe, the Brits, lapped it up because it tasted good. Things only began going wrong with the delivery of crop technology whose benefits were murky to the average consumer. Biotechnology won't be going away, so we better get used to thinking intelligently about it. Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Lewis Wolpert writes: "There are those in green and anti-GM movements who think that there is no real food shortage in the world, and that famine and hunger are due to grossly unfair distribution of food, and to war. But the best estimates are that the world's population will increase from 6 billion to 9 billion in the next 25 years, which will require food production almost to double."
A report by the government's Scientific Steering Committee has strongly criticised the pressure group Greenpeace. It says: "We were particular disappointed about statements made by Greenpeace claiming that the science was flawed, only days after an open seminar in London at which we presented the science case. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth were amongst a packed audience that day and neither found any defects in design or project methodology." BBC
The power of prunes. Plum growers hope stronger bones and moister meat loaf can replace regularity as the fruit's selling points. Salon Magazine
Traditional Chinese diet is ‘better for your heart. Chinese people on a traditional diet are healthier than those eating Western-style food – even though they smoke more, a local expert has told heart specialists in the United States. South China Morning Post
Social drinking may help the liver. The equivalent of one or two drinks a day appeared to help the damaged livers of lab rats repair themselves, according to a paper by Dr. Gerald Minuk of the University of Manitoba, Canada. MSNBC and New Scientist
'Sensational' debate seen as damaging. Sensationalising the debate over genetically modified foods would be detrimental for the country in making its position felt in international markets, warns Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi. Dr Supachai said Thailand would continue to invest in bio-engineering research. Bangkok Post
Jesus wasn't a veggie, say scholars. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has caused controversy in Northern Ireland over an advertising campaign with the slogan: "Jesus was a vegetarian. Show respect for God's creatures – follow him." The group took a mobile billboard on a tour of butcher's shops in west Belfast but was banned by a billboard company from putting up posters on the Falls Road. Telegraph
Britain gains appetite for healthy diet. According to the yearly National Food Survey, to be published today by the Ministry of Agriculture, people are quick to react to food scares. They are also heeding healthy eating campaigns. The Times
Gripped by a herd mentality, the British cannot discuss the safety of food without their brains curdling. Under a new bombardment of food frights and tales of things that go bump on your plate, they are fleeing from the one area of agricultural progress that might actually benefit British farmers, consumers and the environment. Times
GM corn little threat to Monarch? Prince Charles will be relieved to hear that although pollen from genetically modified corn may harm monarch butterfly caterpillars, the pollen itself doesn't travel very far. Researchers suggested on Tuesday that there is limited risk to butterflies just a few feet away from the corn fields. Reuters
Scientists who mostly see merit in GM foods have failed to get their message across in the media, in contrast to the considerable success of organisations opposed to biotechnology such as Genetic Concern, according to an Irish academic. Irish Times
Frozen pleas – Bee Wilson isn't swallowing Iceland's ad campaign. When politicians get desperate, they start attacking politics itself. By the same token, when super- markets get desperate, they attack the whole process of commercial food retail, trying to tar all their competitors with a single brush in order to emerge, innocent and unscathed, but with vastly boosted profits, without ever appearing greedy or cut-throat. This, at least, is my explan-ation of what's going on at Iceland. New Statesman
UK food scares boost organic sales 40 percent. Sales of organic food in Britain rose 40 percent in the last year, driven by consumer worries about genetically modified produce and the effects of BSE, a report by market analysts Mintel said on Friday. Over 70 per cent of Britons have bought organic products and sales are expected to reach 550 million pounds ($895 million) in 1999. Reuters
Americans to debate biotech foods. The American public will today get its first direct input into the debate over genetically-modified food – the subject of so much angst in Europe. But how audible its voice will be, among the clamour of competing claims, is less clear. Financial Times.
