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Why doesn't the media tell us more about genetically modified food?

I have seen little in the media other than what supports the profit agenda of the biotech corporations. Is that changing? See for interest this recent article from Huffington post. Is its presence a sign that perhaps the mainstream media is starting to "notice" the science that contradicts the science of the biotech corporations? Will we see more coverage of these issues in the media? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/will-obamas-food-safety-t_b_178127.html Quote for those who don't follow links: "Will Obama's Food Safety Team Finally Regulate the Biggest Food Safety Hazard of Our Time? If President Obama's new Food Safety Working Group dedicates all their time and credentials to prevent future food recalls, they will have saved thousands of people--but forsaken millions. Over the last decade, our radically changing diet has ushered in the explosive growth of food-related ailments, such as allergies, asthma, obesity, diabetes, autism, infertility, gastro-intestinal disorders, and learning disabilities. Of all the changes in our food, the most dangerous transformation was the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops. When these gene-spliced concoctions, such as GM soy, corn, canola, and cottonseed, came on the scene in 1996, the proportion of Americans suffering from three or more chronic ailments. After just 9 years, that nearly doubled to 13%. GM foods are the prime suspect. Government policy at odds with science Until now, the government has sidestepped the controversy by hiding behind FDA policy, which asserts that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are "substantially equivalent" to natural foods and therefore don't require any safety studies. But as Obama acknowledged, "many of the laws and regulations governing food safety in America" are outdated. In truth, the FDA's GMO policy was not even up-to-date when it was implemented in May 1992. FDA documents made public from a lawsuit revealed that virtually all the agency scientists asked to comment voiced strong warnings that GMOs may cause serious health problems. But the FDA was under orders from the White House to fast track GM foods, and the person in charge of FDA policy was the former attorney of biotech giant Monsanto--and later become their vice president. The scientists and the science were ignored. Now that animals fed GMOs--in labs and farms around the world--have exhibited symptoms related to the growing list of diseases in the US population, the President's Food Safety team, including Dr. Margaret Hamburg as FDA Commissioner, must update GMO regulation. A scientifically sound regulation would translate into an immediate ban of current GM crops, and the implementation of rigorous safety testing requirements before any GMO was put back into the food supply. And certainly mandatory labeling, as promised by President Obama during his campaign, must accompany any GM food approval. Presidents and industry insiders avoid GMOs The Obama family has wisely opted out of exposing themselves to GM foods by requiring organic--and therefore non-GMO--foods served at the White House. They are even planting an organic garden on the south lawn of the White House, to feature 55 types of vegetables. The Bush family also had an organic kitchen policy. Laura Bush was "adamant" about it, but kept it all quiet. Even at Monsanto, many in-the-know employees won't consume the company's own GM creations. Back in 1999, the management of the cafeteria at Monsanto's UK headquarters in High Wycombe, England wrote: "In response to concern raised by our customers . . . we have decided to remove, as far as possible, genetically modified soy and maize (corn) from all food products served in our restaurant. . . . We have taken the above steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve." And one former Monsanto scientist told me that his colleagues, who were safety testing milk from cows injected with the company's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, decided to stop drinking milk--unless it was organic. It's now time to let us all opt out of this dangerous and failed GM experiment. If Obama's team is serious about food safety and public health, they must take GMOs off our plates and put them back into the laboratory. (end of quote)

Public Comments

1. first of all don't lump all the media together. secondly, GMO is a difficult and intricate subject that - believe it or not - does not sell many newspapers. thirdly, in a time when everyone is cutting back, it becomes more difficult to justify keeping specialized knowledge reporters who cover unpopular or ignored beats - sad but true. you know that the electronic publicly funded media such as bbc, cbc, national public radio and pbs will continue to pursue this story and other than that they are a bust. that leaves the print media. wire services will carry this type or article when something happens that is connected with it, or when a member newspaper prints an article that is then filed to the wire service and disseminated to other members who can choose to print or not print however much or little of the article that they want. so you can see that getting something into the media gaze is a more complex process than you imagined. beyond that, there are the scientific journals that only scientists and a few interested people read. in these very unsettled times the best way to get unpopular topics into print is to have some large or spectacular events attached to them.
2. cause "the majority of" the public and the media are both too dumb to spell or even pronounce"Codex Alimentarius"(did I even spell that right?). most are still recovering from "Ahmadinejad".lol...
3. oh now you want them to do their job. I'm still waiting for them to report on 911. the new boss seems to want to get us away from natural foods and vitamins, guess he's looking for new customers for his new health program. I agree with you we should get GMO's off our plates and get the fluoride out of our water supply. but with the FDA (faster dying Americans ) and these other groups trying to kill us it's going to be a long uphill battle.
4. The newspapers have to sell. If they think another story is going to sell them more papers, they will go with that and bump stories they consider 'of specialist interest'. Most people have a very blase attitude to GM. They think if the Government approves something, it must be alright, and those that are objecting to it are overly sceptical. Unless and until deformed babies are being flopped out on delivery tables in large numbers will anyone question that the food supply may be to blame, and by then, for many of us, it will already be too late. Hollywood doesn't help. Whenever there is talk of genetic mutation, it always results in someone getting superpowers. They don't get sick and have skin conditions or chronic bowl conditions, that just wouldn't be sexy. Cloning is another bugbear of mine, as they always portray a clone as the copy of an original person. It's rubbish. Even if you have exactly the same genetic information as someone else, say you are a twin, you still have a personality and consciousness that is unique to you. Every person, even if they are a an identical twin or a clone, would have their own unique set of fingerprints. When you do see GM in the media, it is often touted as the 'only solution' to something, like, 'we are going to have problems with the water supply, and the only solution is to genetically modify corn to be drought resistant', that sort of thing. I think we are going to see a lot more problems that only GM can solve, as if that is supposed to make us feel better about it. Unfortunately, it will probably result in more people accepting it, if it is presented in this way. GM would be seen as the saviour science, and anyone raising valid concerns would be presented as being obstructive and stifling 'progress'. Lets hope the GM companies don't get away with it.
5. "The Media" is owned by the same massive corporations who are responsible for the altered food as well as most of the war efforts and almost everything BAD with this entire world. PLUS, if something is mentioned in the media or touted by same you can pretty much be sure that it is bad for you ... no matter what it is. They are getting very sloppy though. There is no longer enough time for them to intro these slow brainwashing schemes so now they have to just play on the mass stupidity of the average public. At least now they ANNOUNCE what they are about to do ... just before they do it ... like when the anthrax thing was in all the papers and then all of a sudden the anthrax mysteriously appeared. Gee ... anyone figure that one out? A lot of us drink the public water ... but then a lot of us DON'T ... :-) I AM Dartagnon