GM crops (I).

• Author: Doley, Bill
• Position: On the Ecology of Meat, GM Crops, and the Embodied Energy in a Car - Letter to the Editor

I was extremely disappointed with your recent anti-GM [genetically modified foods] editorial "Why Should We Be Novartis's Guinea Pigs?" (July/August). World Watch does the world a great disservice by bashing this wonderful technology that has enormous potential to sustainably feed the global population. Every technology has costs (including risks) and benefits. When you weigh the benefits of GM crop technology against the risks, it is a no-brainer. The benefits are enormous and the risks are all minor and manageable. Perceived risks are not real risks, and there is no such thing as risk-free technology.

I also fail to understand why a scientifically grounded organization like World Watch supports the wholly unscientific practice that we call organic farming. Organic is a kind of a religion, based on beliefs that have no scientific basis whatsoever. It is a religion built on fear of the unknown, fear of things we cannot see like pesticides, radiation and DNA. Furthermore, if the organic folks want to produce high quality food...