Mark Lynas Once Anti-GMO Protester, Now Pro Science

At the 2013 Oxford Farming Conference in England, author Mark Lynas made a public apology to the science and ag community for his anti-GMO activities. He shares a very interesting message — coming from his background of opposing GMO crops to now supporting biotechnology. He shares his storyLynas: “Well I was — I think— the first anti-GMO activist in the world. I was personally involved in vandalizing GM crops back in the mid-to-late 90s in the U.K. This philospoygy of anit-GM everything was exported widely around the world. In fact we are in a situation today where there is a wide-spread hysteria and superstition about this technology — which I was involved in helping create. When I figured it out through looking at the science of climate change — realizing if you are going to defend science in one area you’ve got to defend it in other areas too. That made me eventually — that made me change my mind — then eventually several years later I realized I had to speak in public about it. It was initially it was a difficult thing to do as I got — how would you characterize it — negative feedback. Accusations of being a traitor and being bought by Monsanto and this kind of stuff. But it doesn't stick because it not true. Ultimately people actually do care about what is true in the world and science is the way we decide what is true and what is false.”Lynas will be speaking in Boise on next Tuesday, May 19th at the Egyptian Theatre at 7 p.m. Food Producers of Idaho is sponsoring this free and open to the pubic event.