Vatican’s Perspective on GMO: Signaling Winds of Change?
source: http://gmo-journal.com/index.php/2010/03/30/vaticans-perspective-on-gmo-signaling-winds-of-c...
-
-
- GMOJournal
- added this
While the Vatican’s semi-official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, recently reported that the Church has no official position on the practice of modifying the genes of produce, it appears that change may be in the air for Pope’s inner circle. The hope is that the appointment of Cardinal Peter Turkson in January as the head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to replace the notably pro-GMO Cardinal Renato Martino would usher in a more cautionary perspective about GMOs from the Vatican.
The L’Osservatore Romano comments concerning the alleged neutrality of the Holy See’s were made shortly after the European Commission approved for commercial cultivation Amflora, a genetically modified starchy potato. Amflora, produced by the largest chemical company in the world, BASF, is currently only approved for starch production, not human consumption, but the leftover skins will be fed to cattle. It will used for industrial purposes like paper and yarn production and making spray concrete.
The controversy surrounding Amflora is that the potato contains a gene that is resistant to antibiotics including kanamycin, neomycin, butirosin, and gentamicin. When antibiotic resistance is making frequent headlines, the European Commission’s approval, and BASF’s cultivation of such crop, is, in the eyes of many, irresponsible.
Despite the Vatican’s alleged neutrality, GMO Journal, which has previously expressed an opinion that reverberations from the Pope’s inner circle suggest a pro-GMO stance, hopes that the recent appointment of Cardinal Turkson signals that the Vatican is ready to confront the GMO debate with greater objectivity and less willingness to blindly repeat the industry jingles of needing GMOs to save the world from hunger.
In fact, unlike his predecessor Cardinal Martino, as the new head of Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Turkson would urge an attitude of caution and further study of the possible negative effects of genetically engineered organisms.
Continue reading: http://gmo-journal.com/index.php/2010/03/30/vaticans-perspective-on-gmo-signalin...
The L’Osservatore Romano comments concerning the alleged neutrality of the Holy See’s were made shortly after the European Commission approved for commercial cultivation Amflora, a genetically modified starchy potato. Amflora, produced by the largest chemical company in the world, BASF, is currently only approved for starch production, not human consumption, but the leftover skins will be fed to cattle. It will used for industrial purposes like paper and yarn production and making spray concrete.
The controversy surrounding Amflora is that the potato contains a gene that is resistant to antibiotics including kanamycin, neomycin, butirosin, and gentamicin. When antibiotic resistance is making frequent headlines, the European Commission’s approval, and BASF’s cultivation of such crop, is, in the eyes of many, irresponsible.
Despite the Vatican’s alleged neutrality, GMO Journal, which has previously expressed an opinion that reverberations from the Pope’s inner circle suggest a pro-GMO stance, hopes that the recent appointment of Cardinal Turkson signals that the Vatican is ready to confront the GMO debate with greater objectivity and less willingness to blindly repeat the industry jingles of needing GMOs to save the world from hunger.
In fact, unlike his predecessor Cardinal Martino, as the new head of Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Turkson would urge an attitude of caution and further study of the possible negative effects of genetically engineered organisms.
Continue reading: http://gmo-journal.com/index.php/2010/03/30/vaticans-perspective-on-gmo-signalin...
-
- groups:
- Green
-
- tags:
- Christianity, Sustainable Agriculture, GMOs, GMO, 3 more
