107 Nobel Laureate Attack on Greenpeace Traced Back to Biotech PR Operators

[Judi Lynn]

July 1, 2016
107 Nobel Laureate Attack on Greenpeace Traced Back to Biotech PR Operators

by Jonathan Latham

Greenpeace was denied entrance yesterday (June 30) to a National Press Club Event in Washington, DC of 107 Nobel Laureates. The event was ostensibly organised by a scientific group calling itself Support Precision Agriculture to publicise a letter signed by 107 Nobel Laureates demanding that Greenpeace cease its opposition to “golden rice” and GMO technology in general. Greenpeace was attempting to attend the event. However, senior research specialist on GMOs, Charlie Cray, accompanied by Tim Schwab, senior researcher from Food and Water Watch were both physically prevented from entering the Press Club.

“We were told that only credentialed Press were allowed,” Schwab told Independent Science News. According to Schwab “I then saw Greg Jaffe from the NGO Center for Science in The Public Interest (CSPI) entering the room.” Informed of this, the security person changed his story: some NGO’s were invited to attend.

Afterwords, Schwab told us: “Some NGOs were invited: Really? Why not Greenpeace—the subject of this campaign?” Nor was the security person just anyone. Schwab and Cray recognised him as Jay Byrne. Byrne is the former head of corporate communications for Monsanto (1997-2001).

Byrne now heads the biotech public relations outfit v-Fluence. Typical of his style was a contribution to the book “Let Them Eat Precaution” published in 2005 by the American Enterprise Institute and edited by Jon Entine of the Genetic Literacy Project.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/01/107-nobel-laureate-attack-on-greenpeace-traced-back-to-biotech-pr-operators/

[bemildred]

1. "Precision agriculture" == "Magic Beans".

We seem to have a new bullshit offensive for GMOs, the standard 3rd party testimonial technique, with 107 GMO-favoring Nobel Laureates as the third party.

[MisterP]

3. "it'll cure all our problems--just give it another century"

it's the same crap the nuke sector's been spraying since they opened civilian reactors to "prove" it wasn't all just a-bombs

[bemildred]

5. It's complete horseshit, just like "precision bombing".

Some PR dipshit thought it sounded good,

[longship]

2. Here's what this is...

[druidity33]

4. Brain surgeons can be idiots...

why not Nobel laureates? Can someone get a counter-group of 107 other Nobel laureates to sign on to Greenpeace's message?

[bemildred]

6. It sure as hell doesn't mean they are right, even in their own discipline.

They appeal to their own authority, it's like circular. I have nothing against GMO's as such, we are all GMO's, it's very interesting tech and may indeed save the planet someday, but I do object to commercial marketing of GMO's for profit. Such power is dangerous, not to be used by greedy dumb shits to make money.