Who's Pulling Life Sciences' Strings?

Green Party Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons is calling on the Life Sciences Network to come clean on whether multinational corporations are funding its pro-GE advertising activities.

"Tomorrow (Wednesday) New Zealanders will be subjected to an intensive advertising campaign to influence the outcome of the election by portraying GE as safe and beneficial," said Jeanette Fitzsimons.

"Pro-GE interests will trot out their usual litany of bad science, half-truths and misleading information. What they won't be saying is how much this ad campaign costs and who is ultimately footing the bill.

"A talented young scientist may be the image on the front of their ads but New Zealanders might find the faces of the multinational money men behind the campaign far less attractive.

"We certainly know which companies will benefit from the commercial release of GE organisms into our environment. Foreign owned companies like Monsanto, Dupont and Novartis have racked-up billion-dollar profits from their GE plantations and experiments.

"Almost as worrying as the role of big business in determining the outcome of this election is the participation of Crown Research Institutes in Life Sciences' crusade," said Jeanette Fitzsimons. "HortResearch, AgResearch, Crop & Food Research and Forest Research are all listed as members.

"How can they justify their involvement in an ad campaign aimed at influencing voters just days out from an election?"

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