Governor Tom Vilsack was named “Bio-Governor of the Year” at the Iowa Biotechnology Association’s conference this week in Des Moines. Industry spokeswoman Linda Thrane says about a year ago, the StarLink corn scare and another story hurt bio-tech’s image.They said B-T corn might hurt butterflies, and with the “toxic taco shells” report, it caused concern, but government and industry reacted fast to explain and get StarLink out of the marketplace. Thrane says people were reassured by the fast responseStarLink did pose questions about the regulatory system, and she says it’s good but should keep on improving. Thrane says it’s funny that for over a decade people have hailed biotechnology as a good thing in the field of medicine, but fear it in their food supply.Thrane says consumers will warm to biotech foods as they offer more things like improved taste, longer freshness and heart-healthy vegetable oils. The Thursday conference focused attention on attracting international investment in biotechnology.
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