INDEPENDENT NEWS

Beware the purveyors of ignorance

Published: Mon 3 Sep 2001 08:34 AM
Beware the purveyors of ignorance
The public should fear the misinformation and distortions of some anti-GM activists much more than GE itself, the Chairman of the New Zealand Life Sciences Network (Inc), Dr William Rolleston, said today.
“The Greens are playing on people’s fears to pursue a political agenda. Having failed to convince the Royal Commission that they were right they have now turned to ordinary New Zealanders and are cynically trying to manipulate them.
“The Royal Commission spent many months closely examining all the evidence the Greens could muster from around the world and then said we should proceed cautiously with GM on a case by case basis. The Royal Commission said the risks can be assessed and managed.
“The Greens couldn’t persuade the Royal Commission they asked for. Now they seek to persuade the public with misinformation and outright distortion.
“This is not democracy, this is a small minority trying to impose their ideas on the rest of us.
“We all have the right to choose. Making a choice does not give us the right to stop someone else making a legitimate choice for themselves. There is no factual or scientific basis for the assertion that GM can’t co-exist with other types of agriculture in New Zealand – to say otherwise is to lie,” concluded Dr Rolleston.
ENDS

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