Agricultural Biotechnology Council

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The ABC is a corporate-funded Lobby group for GMOs, run from the offices of PR company Lexington Communications. ABC was still listed as a client on their website as of Sept.2018.

ABC supports the Parliamentary APPG on Science and Technology in Agriculture, chaired by Julian Sturdy MP.

ABC was set up in 2002 by its 6 member companies, all of which are heavily invested in Genetic Modification. It works with the food chain and research community to invest in a broad range of crop technologies – including conventional and advanced breeding techniques, such as GM. The ABC asserts that the techniques are designed to promote the sustainable intensification of agriculture by tackling challenges such as pests, diseases and changing climatic conditions, whilst reducing water usage, greenhouse gas emissions and other inputs".
"Our goal is to provide factual information and education about the agricultural use of GM technology in the UK, based on respect for public interest, opinions and concerns." ref The companies are:

ABC is a member of:

  • EuropaBio - Europe's largest and most influential biotech lobby group
  • SCIMAC, which develops ways of carefully managing the introduction of Genetically Modified crops in the UK.

PR Spin

  • Sept.2018: ABC commissioned a "millenium poll" from Populus,[1] which found that "the younger generation is largely relaxed about eating GM foods". The report was widely publicised in the press. However, the poll questions are nowhere to be found on their website, which renders the poll results meaningless. Ask the right question in the right way, and you'll get the answer you want.
  • Jan.2003: Lexington Communications hired Bernard Marantelli, a PR spin merchant from Monsanto, to run a pro-GM campaign on behalf of the ABC to "educate regulators, legislators, retailers and consumer groups".[2]

People

Ex-People

Articles

  • May.07.2018: Millennials 'have no qualms about GM crops' unlike older generation. The poll of 1,600 18-30 year-olds, carried out for the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC), found that the younger generation is largely relaxed about eating GM foods. Two thirds of under-30s believe technology is a good thing for farming and support futuristic farming techniques. Only 20% of millennials expressed concerns about the benefits of gene editing or genetically modifying crops. Proposals put forward by Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, which are currently under public consultation recognise that developing the next generation of food and farming technology could reduce the impact of pests and diseases and improve the UK’s competitiveness. The ABC has called on the Government to use Brexit and the reset of agricultural policy to take advantage of ground-breaking technologies that have previously been blocked at EU level. It said the use of gene editing and GM technology in the UK, post Brexit, could help British farming flourish. Mark Buckingham, chair, said "With Brexit on the horizon, techniques such as editing individual genes in crops to make them more resistant to diseases are going to be essential to help British farmers and scientists lead the world in agri-science.” Victoria Ward, The Telegraph.

References