Planting Seeds of Acceptance for GMOs

"U.S. companies like Monsanto, which invested heavily in [genetically modified crops], suffered huge losses when Europe balked. As part of a public relations effort, the U.S. State Department enlisted a Vatican academy last month as a co-sponsor of a conference in Rome, 'Feeding a Hungry World: The Moral Imperative of Biotechnology.'" (This although a United Nations report found "clear evidence that the problems of the poor are being neglected" by the biotech industry.) "In response to such pressure, the European Union has relaxed legal restrictions on genetically modified foods." A Syngenta spokesperson said European consumers' rejection of GMOs is "not based on facts" but "is a political, cultural and media-driven decision."