GMOs: Salvation or armageddon?

On May 25, millions of people in 52 countries around the world marched to protest Monsanto, a giant, U.S.-based corporation that has become the lightning rod of worldwide opposition to genetically modified food.

Protests were held in Sudbury, where dozens of people turned out to call for and end to the use of GMOs. But are those fears justified? A Google search will quickly turn up dozens of websites warning of the horrors of GMOs, but the mainstream scientific community takes a different view.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the oldest and most credible scientific organizations in the world, has come out in favour of them. They say study after study has shown genetically modified food is safe, and more important, could play a vital role in boosting world food production as global warming reshapes the world's climate.

We asked two local organizers of the Sudbury Monsanto rally – Mark Howitt and Matt Larcher – to tell us why they oppose genetically modified food.