A thought-provoking article on www.foodnavigator-usa.com asks the question: “Is the food industry under attack from an NGO / media complex.” The article discusses Jon Entine’s presentation at the IFT show in Las Vegas last month where he argued that NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) and advocacy groups often “lead rather than follow the consumer.” According to FoodNavigator, Entine proposed that this “NGO-media complex” has “a tendency to hijack debates over areas of the food industry where there is a perceived risk to consumers.” Specifically, they have a strong presence on the internet and frequently cultivate strong relationships with the media, meaning that “narrow voices representing probably less than 5-10% of the population become much louder.” One problem with this imbalance is that it can skew the perception of regulators who might mistake perception for reality.
Putting aside the existence of any coherent “NGO-media complex,” it’s difficult to argue against the proposition that various advocacy groups have dominated the internet “conversation” on issues like GMO’s. Please read the complete article here.
