“When we start talking about the actual benefits, people change their minds,” responded Just when Rep Suzan DelBene, Washington state Democrat, asked how to change the situation. He used the example of so-called golden rice, modified to provide more Vitamin A and potentially avert hundreds of thousands of cases of blindness each year. It may be 2016 before the variety becomes available, says the Independent Online. Just advised against multi-syllable scientific words “that sound like it was grown in a test tube.”
The witnesses all spoke in support of agricultural biotechnology. Skeptics say reliance on biotech crops has encouraged development of herbicide-resistant weeds and driven up production costs for farmers. Professor Calestous Juma of Harvard said studies repeatedly have found GMO crops to be safe.
To read the statements of the witnesses, click here.