Rallying the troops
What fun to have been invited to speak about GMOs at the recent Neal’s Yard Remedies Organic annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
It was a lightning visit – and one that reminded me of the true impact of jet lag. But it was so worth it to meet NYR Organic’s fabulous and motivated consultants, many of whom see themselves as activists as well as businesswomen, and talk with them about the multiple health and environment problems that come with GMO crops, why it’s important to oppose them and also, for a long established business like Neals Yard Remedies, how continued planting of these toxic crops threaten the organic supply chain.
Here’s the intro to my talk:
“I’m here to talk about GM, but maybe from a different perspective then you are used to. I want to tell the story of it, what it is and how we got to where we are today particularly here in the US which produces 50% of all the world’s GM food, and consumes so much of that.
“The story of GM has been told by a lot of people, by a lot of campaigners, not always very articulately or well. It is often told as a David and Goliath tale, a right to know tale, and an ‘us against the faceless corporation’ tale. It’s certainly all of those things, but its many more things besides and it looks different depending on where you live and how far your country has gone towards adopting GMOs.
“For me it’s also a coming of age tale. Maybe more than any other environmental topic, GM is telling the story of our times, politically, technologically, environmentally, psychologically, scientifically and culturally. It’s a story of whether and how we survive our cultural and scientific adolescence and transition into maturity.
“In essence it’s the story about the moment of possibility that find ourselves in now and about finding the will to collectively set our feet on the path towards a more secure and sane future.
“So this talk I’m going to give this morning is a little different from some of the others that you have heard or are going to hear this weekend. It’s basically the same one that I’ve given to NYR staff in London and although I’ve tried to tone down the most technical stuff, inevitably to talk about GMOs you have to give your ‘inner geek’ a bit of room to roam.
“By the time we get to the end I hope you will have a better understanding of the what the process of genetic modification of agricultural crops entails, and why we as a company have some really very serious concerns, doubts and questions about this technology and why we feel it threatens average citizens like ourselves but also our organic brand, and why we believe that we must be speaking out about it in the strongest possible terms.
“In addition to my multiple roles at NYR I am also a long time environmental campaigner and journalist and I am old enough to have watched the progress of GM technology over time with a growing sense of alarm.
“It’s a technology that has become widely adopted and integrated into our farming and food systems with almost no regulation, no human safety testing, no oversight or sense of responsibility to current and future generations. And the longer the saga of GM goes on the more alarming the data about what it is doing to our environment and to our health becomes.
“For us at NYR Organic the issue is clear – the people have a right to know. And where the data is unclear there is an absolute responsibility to apply the Precautionary Principle.
“For all of you it is a next step on your journey. It may be a bit like the organic journey that some of you have taken. Perhaps before you joined the company or when you were very new to it you thought of organic as a nice to have. Then comes that ah-ha moment, the day you woke up and realised that in fact it was a must have and you couldn’t imagine any other way of living or thinking or being. So it is with GMOs. There simply comes a moment when you know in your bones that we need to say “no” and that the decisions we take now, whether we choose to be active or inactive on this issue, will have repercussions for generations…”
What followed was 40 minutes of slides, video, jokes, profanity (oops, just slipped out!), and a chance to give my GMO manifesto (see below) an airing! Thanks to everyone who listened so intently and gave me such a warm reception, and posted such enthusiastic tweets about the talk. Let’s keep spreading the word!
