GMO Seed Companies Block University Research

Among the many arguments of the critics of genetically modified organism seed stocks is true, unbiased research on the GMO seeds has not been conducted adequately. Now university researchers are claiming that the biotech seed companies are blocking studies on the effectiveness and environmental impact of the industry’s genetically modified crops.
“No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions,” the scientists wrote in a statement submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency. The E.P.A. is seeking public comments for scientific meetings it will hold next week on biotech crops.
When anyone, including university researchers buy GMO seed, an agreement must be signed stipulating that the grower will honor all patent rights of the biotech companies. These rights include reviewing all research results before they are published and the right to block such research from becoming public if the biotech companies don’t like the results of the research.
The companies “have the potential to launder the data, the information that is submitted to E.P.A.,” said Elson J. Shields, a professor of entomology at Cornell.
It is public knowledge that the revolving door syndrome is at work with the GMO debacle. Government regulators will switch jobs and go to work for the GMO seed companies. GMO seed company employees will also switch jobs and go to work for government regulatory companies. Obviously, the potential for protecting the public is at risk in this situation.
The reasons the GMO seed companies fight things like food labeling stating that the food contains GMO products and unbiased research on the GMO seeds may be economic in nature, afraid it will hurt the sale of GMO seeds. However, it may be much more sinister. The GMO seeds may be dangerous to the public. Without real unbiased research we may never know.
The complaints of the researchers in this news article are on the effectiveness of some of the claims of the GMO seed companies on insect resistance but the research censorship rules apply to any type of research the scientists want to conduct on the seeds.

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Tagged as: Farming & Agriculture, GMOs, vegetables