Greenpeace condemned
Green Pete | 16.10.2014 10:39 | Ecology
Co-founder Patrick Moore says organisation doesn't care about people
He cites example of a GM-rice which would help millions if widely produced
Dr Moore says fact that Greenpeace oppose crop shows it is 'evil'
Comes after the ecologist quit the group because it became 'too political'
He cites example of a GM-rice which would help millions if widely produced
Dr Moore says fact that Greenpeace oppose crop shows it is 'evil'
Comes after the ecologist quit the group because it became 'too political'
Greenpeace has been branded an 'evil organisation' which has 'lost concern for humans' in an astonishing attack by its own co-founder.
Dr Patrick Moore, who quit Greenpeace in 1986, has launched a scathing criticism of the activist group, which he insisted has lost its humanitarian roots.
His attack on the organisation he helped create comes as former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson campaigns against the 'self-serving' and 'highly-paid' network of environmental pressure groups he calls the 'green blob'.
Dr Moore told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'My problem with Greenpeace is they have lost any humanitarian roots they had.
'When we started Greenpeace it was to stop nuclear war and the destruction of human civilisation, that of course is the "peace" in Greenpeace.
'The "green" is the environment and that's good as well, but they lost the concerns for humans... They have turned, basically, into an evil organisation.'
He gave the example of so-called 'golden rice', a crop enriched with vitamin A which supporters say would help millions of the world's poorest people improve their diet.
Dr Moore said the fact that Greenpeace opposed the idea showed that they no longer care about people.
Dr Moore helped found Greenpeace in 1971 while PhD student in ecology, but he later left the group, claiming it had become more interested in politics than science.
He is now a proponent of nuclear energy and is skeptical about sole human responsibility for climate change.
Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace, later shrugged of the criticisms made of his organisation.
He said: 'When we do campaigns, we look at influence, we look at impact and we are very, very mindful to incorporate social and economic issues into what we do, because otherwise campaigns won't work.
A representative of Greenpeace has said the organisation always considers the social effects of its campaigns
A representative of Greenpeace has said the organisation always considers the social effects of its campaigns
'There's not going to be some kind of green dictatorship which imposes these decisions on anybody.'
The row comes after Pascal Husting, Greenpeace International’s Programme Director, was exposed earlier this year as having commuted the 250 miles between Luxembourg and Amsterdam by plane since 2012.
Each trip is believed to have cost Greenpeace £200 and would have generated 142kg of carbon dioxide emissions, it was said.
Dr Parr said Mr Husting's behaviour was 'a mistake' and 'should never have happened'.
On the organisation's position of golden rice, he said: 'The thing about golden rice is it's a least-favourable option and it doesn't actually exist yet, it's been many years in proposal and... it doesn't work
'The real solution to this is a proper, balanced diet like the home gardening initiatives in Bangladesh have achieved
Dr Patrick Moore, who quit Greenpeace in 1986, has launched a scathing criticism of the activist group, which he insisted has lost its humanitarian roots.
His attack on the organisation he helped create comes as former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson campaigns against the 'self-serving' and 'highly-paid' network of environmental pressure groups he calls the 'green blob'.
Dr Moore told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'My problem with Greenpeace is they have lost any humanitarian roots they had.
'When we started Greenpeace it was to stop nuclear war and the destruction of human civilisation, that of course is the "peace" in Greenpeace.
'The "green" is the environment and that's good as well, but they lost the concerns for humans... They have turned, basically, into an evil organisation.'
He gave the example of so-called 'golden rice', a crop enriched with vitamin A which supporters say would help millions of the world's poorest people improve their diet.
Dr Moore said the fact that Greenpeace opposed the idea showed that they no longer care about people.
Dr Moore helped found Greenpeace in 1971 while PhD student in ecology, but he later left the group, claiming it had become more interested in politics than science.
He is now a proponent of nuclear energy and is skeptical about sole human responsibility for climate change.
Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace, later shrugged of the criticisms made of his organisation.
He said: 'When we do campaigns, we look at influence, we look at impact and we are very, very mindful to incorporate social and economic issues into what we do, because otherwise campaigns won't work.
A representative of Greenpeace has said the organisation always considers the social effects of its campaigns
A representative of Greenpeace has said the organisation always considers the social effects of its campaigns
'There's not going to be some kind of green dictatorship which imposes these decisions on anybody.'
The row comes after Pascal Husting, Greenpeace International’s Programme Director, was exposed earlier this year as having commuted the 250 miles between Luxembourg and Amsterdam by plane since 2012.
Each trip is believed to have cost Greenpeace £200 and would have generated 142kg of carbon dioxide emissions, it was said.
Dr Parr said Mr Husting's behaviour was 'a mistake' and 'should never have happened'.
On the organisation's position of golden rice, he said: 'The thing about golden rice is it's a least-favourable option and it doesn't actually exist yet, it's been many years in proposal and... it doesn't work
'The real solution to this is a proper, balanced diet like the home gardening initiatives in Bangladesh have achieved
Green Pete