Over a year ago I wrote a piece for Slate entitled, “GMO opponents are the climate skeptics of the left.” I pointed out that, when it came to biotechnology, certain environmentalists and supposed food safety advocates acted similar to those who denied the scientific consensus on global warming. Mark Lynas recently tweeted a good example of…Continue Reading…
An opinion piece in Al Jazeera repeats many of the tropes one frequently hears about GMOs. The accompanying photo (also displayed in this post) is an apt illustration. At the center is a person holding a sign that connects Monsanto and Agenda 21, which is an innocuous U.N. sustainability initiative that has been turned into a feverish…Continue Reading…
I knew I could count on Michael Pollan for this tweet: “No scientific consensus on GMO safety”: statement by European Network of Scientists for S and E responsibility http://t.co/2p3hqerMtV — Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) October 21, 2013 Of course, there is a scientific consensus, just as there is for the safety of childhood vaccines and the…Continue Reading…
One of biotechnology’s most articulate allies has laid down the gauntlet: My challenge to the biotechnology industry – the whole food industry in general in fact – is very clear. You have to stop opposing labelling. Instead, you have to embrace the consumer right to know. To lose this entire debate to a motley coalition…Continue Reading…
At The Conversation: There is a classic position in the science communication literature which goes, roughly, if you meet resistance to science, throw facts at those who resist. If that doesn’t work, throw more facts at them, and throw them harder. This approach, though roundly debunked, is unfortunately still a common default. The author did not…Continue Reading…
Mark Lynas detonated a stink bomb on Twitter today: Imagine an ‘anti-science hall of shame’ w. climate deniers & anti-GM activists side by side. e.g. Seralini vs Pat Michaels? Nominations? — Mark Lynas (@mark_lynas) September 5, 2013 While I have on occasion used the anti-science tag for eye-catching purposes (see here and here)–and have been…Continue Reading…
One of the maddening aspects of the GMO discourse is the conflation of industry concerns with science. The biggest example, of course, is the way Monsanto has become a proxy for anti-GMO sentiment. True, this dynamic is not unique to biotechnology. Debates on pharmaceuticals, energy, and agriculture revolve around multinational companies that are stand-ins for…Continue Reading…
Just for kicks, take a guess when Michael Specter wrote this in the New Yorker: If the politics of genetically modified food has never been so anguished, the scientific prospects have never seemed more promising. The answer and his superb piece can be found here. Consider: Since his article appeared, the angry politics of genetically modified…Continue Reading…
As far as explainers go, I thought this Guardian piece discussing possible links between climate change and extreme weather was pretty good. What’s interesting to me is that it was written by Bob Ward, the policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. It’s part of a larger…Continue Reading…
I surfaced briefly today, checking my Twitter feed at just the right time: