Six manufacturers of genetically-modified seeds, including Monsanto Co., have launched a website that they expect will help clear up confusion and dispel mistrust about their products. The site, www.GMOAnswers.com, went live last Monday.

“We recognize we haven’t done the best job communicating about GMOs and how food is produced,” says the site’s spokesperson, Cathy Enright, executive director of the Council for Biotechnology Information. “So we’re opening up to take questions from the public—answering any questions they have.”

The council, whose members include Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, Syngenta, Bayer and BASF, have enlisted the help of some 40 experts who have agreed to field questions. The experts, from agriculture to academia, will try to return with answers within a 24-hour window. But, Enright says, that turnaround time will depend on how many questions are asked. Public relations giant Ketchum will oversee the site.

In the past several years, critics of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have become more vocal, arranging global protests and staging rallies throughout the country.

Source: www.stltoday.com