It is interesting that those asking for studies and safety data on GMO food are vilified as ignorant fools akin to "anti-vaxxers". They are pointing out a LACK of science and data, and asking for some (or more). How can asking for more and/or better data be "ignorant"? I need not remind anyone of the impact on honey for export. Most people think that new GMO foods are tested and approved, like the FDA tests new drugs, and the EPA tests new pesticides. Nope. It's all just manufacturer claims. More stringent regulatory requirements are imposed on new bee-feed products than on new genetically-modified human food in the USA. Without any scientific basis at all, the (USA) FDA considers all GM human food as "substantially equivalent" to non-GM food. All new GM crops are inherently designated as "Generally Recognized as Safe", a puzzling conclusion from no data at all. It was the triumph of corporate lobbying over science. The equivalent of saying that anything made from plastic is inherently safe, without exception, just because it is plastic. When a new GMO food plant is ready for market, the company reveals some part of its summary data for a "consultation" with the FDA. The FDA has no ability to demand all the data, or to even know how many studies were done before the company got some data that they liked, or even much about the methodology. The company picks and chooses what to share. Just 4 countries-the USA, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina-grow 90 percent of the planet's GM crops. Everywhere else, the world has been banning, restricting, and otherwise shunning GM foods. This is because they don't see enough science to support the agribusinesses safety claims. Here is the USA, mandatory GMO labeling is just now ending its two-year implementation period from the 2016 law passed by Congress, so there will at least be a choice for those who wish to make it. So, when the bulk of the planet stands firm in demands for more information, more science, and more safety data, calling them all names makes us look like the ignorant and parochial ones. It won't sell our commodities to them, including honey, which is a shame, as even the WTO agrees that patented GMO seeds are NOT the same as public-domain seeds, and our own Congress agrees that people have the right to know about whatever difference there may be, forcing the new labeling requirements. Note: I will take issue with one part of the linked 2013 talk, because it falsely describes events at which I was personally present - Zambia's drought in in 2002. There were no starvation deaths, the situation was NOT that dire. GMO corn was not "rejected", it was merely milled, and not by the President, but by his agriculture head Mundia Sikatana, who arranged for the maize to be milled so that no one would be tempted to "save seeds" from this GMO crop and plant them later. The reason was that Zambia had a good export trade with EU nations, who demanded non-GMO crops. He did not want to endanger his nation's entire economic future over food aid for people who were certainly facing temporary hard times, but not death. Because the man "blocked" the GMO "food aid" in the form of seed-corn, he is the subject of outright lies to this day. This is a shame, as he acted as a true statesman and leader. No one ever said that any GMO maize was "poisonous". I am sure that contemporaneous press reports still exist for those who are interested, but it helps to know more about a place than its name. Victoria Falls are in Zambia, for example, straight out of Sherlock Holmes. Worth the trip alone. There's also an orphanage/nursery/clinic for baby elephants on the south end of Lusaka. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html