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Day: March 9, 2020

The rise of green conspiracy theories

Environmentalists’ opposition to modern farming techniques is based on junk science and madcap theories.

‘Farming looks mighty easy when your plough is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield.’ Those were the prescient words of US president Dwight Eisenhower. Today, debate about farming has been colonised by environmental activists with little regard for the realities of farming.

In January, the 11th Oxford Real Farming Conference was held just a few days after the Oxford Farming Conference. Ironically, while the Oxford Farming Conference features actual professionals from the farming, biotech and retail sectors, the Real Farming Conference objects to this approach. The ‘Real’ conference was established to fight against ‘industrial’ agriculture. Instead of ‘big business’, it hosts farmers alongside eco-alarmists and the likes of Extinction Rebellion. Extinction Rebellion also protested outside the regular Oxford Farming Conference, dressed in bright red, accusing the attendees of killing the planet.

Many eco-warriors take issue with any farming that is non-organic and, in particular, with the use of pesticides and herbicides. Farmers are using herbicides not to upset activists but in an effort to increase crop yields. These products are necessary and safe. They have been approved by medical agencies, food-safety authorities and governments around the globe.

What’s more, the kind of organic farming favoured by environmentalists is actually bad for the environment. As Chris Bullivant explains on CapX, organic farming produces more greenhouse gases than conventional farming – up to 58 per cent more, in fact.

Nevertheless, the Real Farming Conference promoted an ‘organic transition’ away from the use of copper, plastics and ‘other contentious inputs’. Instead of industrial farming, the conference promotes ‘agroecology’ and ‘peasant farming’ – a back-to-basics approach without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, GMOs and herbicides.

An agroecological approach would be a disaster for our food supply. Agroecology researchers themselves admit that this form of agriculture would decrease agricultural production by 35 per cent. But no matter. The activists’ goal is the complete annihilation of conventional intensive farming at any cost.

Modern intensive farming techniques have successfully rid most of our farmland of invasive species and other pests. In the face of this obvious success, the opponents of modern farming have had to stoop to questionable science.

At an agroecology conference in Kenya last June, one of the featured speakers was conspiracy theorist Tyrone Hayes. His research gave rise to the conspiracy-monger Alex Jones’s infamous claim that atrazine, a widely used herbicide, ‘turns frogs gay’.

Also promoted as a top-tier speaker was Gilles-Eric Séralini, a French biologist and science correspondent for Le Monde (though he was, in the end, a no-show). Séralini is one of the world’s best-known opponents of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A major anti-GMO study he authored in 2012 has since been retracted and debunked by four government-funded studies (three by the EU and one by France). The scandal became known as the ‘Seralini Affair’. The case against GMOs is based on pseudoscience, but this does not trouble the agroecology movement.

The unfortunate truth is that these agroecology activists are influential. For instance, the head of the UK Soil Association, Gareth Morgan, is regularly quoted in national newspapers. He is agitating for a ban on all pesticides and fertilisers and wants the government to endorse agroecology. Parliament already has an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology. In 2018, Michael Gove, when he was environment secretary, spoke at the Real Farming Conference.

Farming and our food supply are far too important to be sacrificed to the pet projects of conspiracy theorists and radical environmentalists.

Originally published here.


The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

A Push for Smart Regulation of CBD

Encourage competition, safety, medical facts and eradication of the black market

ARLINGTON, Va. — Flashy display cases, provocative brand names and lists of health benefits have elevated cannabidiol (CBD), a nonintoxicating compound found in cannabis, to be one of the hottest product trends today.

Whether it be for health, pets or beauty care, the use cases of CBD are becoming mainstream. It’s not uncommon to hear stories of consumers using CBD to alleviate pain in their joints, reduce anxiety and improve sleep.

Retail Revolution

The revolution is already here, and it arrived in a fury. The only guardrails came with the legalization of industrial hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill. That law created a legal distinction between a relative of cannabis without THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)—commonly known as hemp—and THC cannabis, which remains classified as marijuana and is still illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.

That law was a huge boost for farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers in the CBD space. And while it answered many questions, it sparked many more that will take time and deliberation to resolve: Who tests the actual CBD content of these products? Where are these products sourced? Which benefits and health claims are legitimate?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been running to catch up. It has so far focused on bogus health claims made by producers. Meanwhile, the FDA still maintains that food products containing CBD are illegal, despite their widespread availability in stores in practically every state and no real method of enforcement.

In May 2019, the FDA invited scientists, entrepreneurs and consumers to participate in a public hearing. Following statements and presentations from dozens of attendees, including myself, the FDA remains uncertain of what consumers and c-store owners looking to try or sell CBD products need to do to comply with the law.

The FDA is awaiting further instructions from lawmakers in Congress, who are currently floating myriad proposals to deal with cannabis. The latest would classify CBD as a health supplement, exempting it from more stringent regulation and allowing broader distribution in food and drinks.

Core Issues

Apart from that, there are still many gaps to fill. Considering many store owners are currently selling these products, it’s important that both sellers and consumers are aware of the core issues that should be addressed by the FDA and regulators.

In that May hearing, my group, the Consumer Choice Center, presented the following suggestions to the FDA if it wishes to implement smart regulation of CBD. Smart regulation would encourage competition, safety, medical facts and eradication of the black market.

The suggestions are:

  • Develop clear labeling standards, including the percentage of CBD and THC.
  • Allow free advertising and branding.
  • Allow stated health claims and benefits.
  • Embrace harm reduction by allowing CBD products in food, drinks, oils and topical products that do not require combustion.

We hope the FDA takes these points seriously and that these principles are followed by the industry as well.

What should the CBD-curious c-store professional do if they want to dive into CBD products?

  • Maintain a high standard for the products they source.
  • Choose only products with clear labeling and reasonable health claims.
  • Read the included fact sheets and materials that come with orders from reputable CBD firms.
  • Use independent testing services to check the levels of CBD and other compounds.

Entrepreneurs and consumers can work together today to ensure a competitive market with safe, beneficial and exciting innovations that will provide value to everyone.

Originally published here.


The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

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