NCPPR Urges Coca-Cola to Educate Public on Safety of GMOs

"The food and beverage industry has a moral obligation and a business incentive to confront anti-GMO activists by promoting the safety and promise of these high-yield foods," said National Center Free Enterprise Project Director Justin Danhof, Esq. "The attacks on GMO foods often come from elitists such as television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz and the self-appointed Food Babe, Vani Hari, who have used their respective platforms to spread junk science and fear. But their actions have real-world harm and large food and beverage companies, such as Coca-Cola, have a duty to set the record straight."

Explaining that the scientific community agrees GM ingredients are safe and the actions of anti-GMO activists are causing human suffering. Danhof said, “Despite the fact that GMOs are mainstream agriculture, GMOs feed people more efficiently, GMO crops are more environment-friendly than conventional crops and there is a scientific consensus GMO foods are safe - activists still attack companies such as Coca-Cola for using GMOs in some of its products. Last year, Scientific American reported that the delayed application of Vitamin A-enhanced Golden Rice thanks to controversies stirred by anti-GMO activists had cost over 1.4 million life years in India alone since 2002. This is real human suffering and death.”

Danhof went on to explain that the anti-GMO crowd has tricked much of the public into distrusting these ingredients, increasing the need for strong corporate action. “The anti-GMO attacks come from Americans who have likely never missed a meal in their lives. Their campaign against GMOs is unscientific, fear-based and inhumane, but they are winning. One ABC News poll showed 93 percent of Americans think the federal government should mandate GMO labeling - a tactic they hope will elevate GMOs with taboo products such as tobacco and alcohol. As perhaps the most recognizable brand in the world, Coca-Cola has an opportunity, and indeed a duty, to do more to bridge the GMO information gap and educate consumers about the safety of GM products.”

Danhof asked Kent to make Coca Cola's health scientists, nutrition specialists and himself available to the American and international media to combat the unscientific activists and stand up for the promise of GMOs. 

Coca-Cola's Kent replied that the company appreciated the question on biotechnology, presented in a slightly different perspective than they had heard in the past. And that all at Coca-Cola, believe that the only way that it can combat some of these matters  is by business, civil society organizations and public-policy think-tanks coming together and talking about “how we have more sound science, how we can have better science and how we can collaborate more to make sure that consumers are better educated, government officials are better educated and that we can have a consensus of view forward on how to deal with some of these major issues that you have outlined.”

Additionally, he said, “Many of our regulatory affairs executives and scientific executives are involved in those discussions and I'm very happy even to re-commit them to a very productive dialogue with organizations like yours. And I'm very happy to be also a part of those where it can serve a purpose.”

A video of the exchange is available on Youtube: Coca Cola Shareholder Meeting.