DALLAS, TX: Californians will vote this November on Proposition 37, a scare tactic being driven by marketplace competition rather than science that would reverse the benefits genetically modified foods have had on the state's economy.
While many of California's crops are genetically modified to not only reduce the need for both pesticides and herbicides, but also to allow the crops to better tolerate droughts, some still fear GM foods despite there being no scientific evidence indicating people or animals are harmed by them, said Dr. Merrill Matthews of the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI).
"Although these GM foods benefit the state's economy, and are not harmful as demonstrated by science, producers of ‘organic' foods are attempting to frighten the public into avoiding GM products with burdensome labeling regulations requiring food manufacturers to ‘inform' consumers about any GM ingredients," said Matthews.
"Those who care most about their food coming from a slightly tweaked gene are the ones producing ‘organic' products," said Matthews. "If critics can scare the public into avoiding GM products, maybe they'll sell more. The whole purpose is for one competitor to put the squeeze on another by raising doubts in the consumers' mind."
"It's like someone saying that he hasn't been able to prove that his neighbor beats his dog, when there was never any evidence that the neighbor ever did," he said. "Just the mention can raise the question."
"For the sake of California's already limping economy, let's hope that more Californians love science than fear it," said Matthews. "And we'll know in November."
Dr. Merrill Matthews is resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), an independent, nonprofit public policy organization based in Dallas, Texas. He is available for interview by contacting Erin Humiston at (972) 874-5139, or erin@ipi.org.
September 27, 2012