Do GM Crops Become Threatening Weeds?
Amidst the disturbing controversy, an article in the journal Nature (February 8, 2001) came as a whiff of fresh air. A ten year study in UK by Michael Crawley and team has shown that GM crops hardier than rice, such as maize, beet, oilseed rape and potato, did not become more competitive than their non-GM counterparts and did not invade the environment Rice is a very delicate plant. Golden Rice becoming gregarious is far beyond the realm of possibilities. Fool’s Gold? The Greenpeace organization, which is at the forefront of criticism of biotechnology products, posted a statement on the internet on February 9, 2001, and dubbed Golden Rice as ‘Fool’s Gold’. The criticism is based on the following points: a) that the promoters of Golden Rice and supporters of GM crops have gone too far in over selling the product as for example by such statements as Syngenta’s projection that a single month’s marketing delay of Golden Rice will cause 50,000 children to go blind; b) an adult would have to
