Report raps claims by GM foods giant
This is London
28 February, 1999
by Lorraine Fraser
GM foods giant Monsanto is facing censure over its
advertisements promoting 'Frankenstein' foods.
A draft report by the Advertising Standards Authority
leaked to The Mail on Sunday upholds six of 13 complaints
about the multi-billion-pound US biotechnology company's
claims.
The advert in newspapers featuring a GM tomato,
apparently modified to carry a gene to make it resistant to
insects, is condemned as 'misleading' as it suggested that as
a result of this advance Monsanto was prepared to forgo
sales of another of its products when this wasn't the case.
Also misleading, says the ASA, is another advertisement
claiming GM technology means food can be grown in a
'more environmentally sustainable way'.
The report, on objections to seven adverts, is being sent for
comment to the advertisers and complainants and must be
approved by the ASA Council before it becomes official.
But it will encourage environmental groups which objected
to Monsanto's campaign last year, crystallised in its slogan
'Food biotechnology is a matter of opinions. Monsanto
believes you should hear all of them.' GeneWatch, the Soil
Association, The Countryside Restoration Trust and the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds were among the
organisations that complained. Scores of members of the
public also wrote in to object.
The draft report says the benefits and risks of Monsanto's
modified tomatoes have not yet been fully assessed by
regulatory bodies in the UK or the US and it demands that
any future adverts make clear that this type of GM tomato
is not yet available in the UK. The report says GM crops
may increase yields in developing countries but complains
that the advertisers did not send enough evidence to show
long-term benefits would result and expresses worries about
the environ-mental risks. The RSPB said yesterday: 'There
will have to be rigorous scientific appraisal before they can
guarantee GM crops could be good for wildlife.'
The ASA draft findings also side with objectors who
challenged a claim in four advertisements that Monsanto
has been testing GM foods for safety for 20 years.
The report also says Monsanto should make it clear that the
contention that GM technology is little more than an
extension of traditional plant breeding is 'a matter of
opinion'.
Monsanto said it had not received any documentation from
the ASA, but added: 'We are looking forward to discussing
this draft report with the ASA .'
© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 28 February 1999
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