Gene Ethics NEWS MEDIA RELEASE
Australians very ‘uncomfortable’ with GM foods – Swinburne survey finds
Thursday, February 4, 2010: Australians remain very uncomfortable about eating genetically manipulated (GM) foods despite government and GM industry claims of growing acceptance. Swinburne University’s fifth National Science and Technology Monitor has found most people well informed about GM but still very mistrustful of the institutions that commercialise GM foods.
“A major target of public mistrust is Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company that owns patents on over 90% of all commercial GM soy, corn, canola and cotton crops that are grown,” says Gene Ethics director Bob Phelps.
“Monsanto’s management and shareholders should be ashamed of ranking absolutely last among the 541 trans-national companies assessed by the annual Geneva-based Covalence reputation index. It is a barometer of how the ethics of big businesses are perceived throughout society. Monsanto consistently fails ethics 101.
Covalence’s Ethical Quote score and rankings reflect the historical evolution of the positive and negative aspects of each of the 541 multinational companies’ ethical reputations. Swinburne’s survey asked 1,000 respondents how comfortable are with GM plants for food and the latest average score was 3.9 on a scale of 10 where zero is ‘not at all comfortable’.
“Monsanto must behave much more ethically if it hopes to win public confidence and trust around the world. The company’s poor reputation is bad for business as Monsanto’s last quarter loss reflects global disillusion with its comprehensive failure as a global corporate citizen. Public relations and political influence are not effective when customers mistrust you so much that they reject your products,” he says.
“As the biggest seed business, Monsanto’s great power over the global food supply and food security for billions of people must be exercised more responsibly than it has been throughout its long history.
“In the 21st century, poor corporate morality is unacceptable. Monsanto must develop and implement a strong code of ethical conduct to achieve its business goals and also fulfil its citizenship responsibilities.
“The Swinburne and Covalence findings should inform the West Australian government’s decision to end its ban on GM crops. Open slather and deregulation of commercial GM canola are irresponsible in light of public opposition and mistrust, and the exemption from the GM ban should be disallowed by parliament.
“Keeping South Australia GM-free will also be a major issue in the upcoming election on March 20. We applaud the SA government and opposition for both resisting the pressure that Monsanto admits to using.
“Australian food processors and shoppers are adamant that fully labelled GM-free foods must remain an option and our governments must ensure they permanently remain on the shelves,” Mr Phelps concludes.
NOTE TO EDITORS
1. Swinburne’s survey report is at: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/mediacentre/media-centre/news/2010/02/attitudes-to-gm-agriculture-unchanged
2. Monsanto’s unethical rating is at: http://www.covalence.ch/index.php/ethical-rankings/across-sectors/
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