Genetically modified organism (GMO) foods are still a topic of hot public debate in many places around the world. Unfortunately much of the opposition to GMOs is based on misinformation and misconceptions making it difficult to move the conversation forward in any meaningful way.
For example, a recent survey conducted by Oklahoma State University's Jayson Lusk and Susan Murray found that 80% of Americans support mandatory labels on food that contain DNA. Since food, natural or genetically manipulated, comes from living organisms, DNA presence is a given. Yet fear and misunderstanding of DNA in food appears implicit in this reaction and represents the seriousness of such stumbling blocks in public discourse on food production and farming.
“Given that a label warning of a food's DNA content would be, for all intents and purposes, as meaningless as a label warning of, say, its water content, the survey results reflect an unsettling degree of scientific ignorance in the American population,” writes Robbie Gonzalez in his i09 post.
“The survey results are also symptomatic of chemophobia, an irrational fear of chemicals deftly parodied by a recent episode of Parks and Rec,” he continued. And here is the video of the episode he refers to:
Not to in anyway discount or diminish legitimate concerns with some GMO foods, but some public discussions on the topic reminds me of the current “anti-vaxxer” movement, also a clear case of chemophobia, which is currently threatening lives in the U.S. and elsewhere. Ignorance of basic science leads to regrettable public outcomes that could have been prevented.
In the case of the anti-vaxxer, faux science movement, the regrettable public outcome is disease outbreak. In the case of the blanket anti-GMO movement, the regrettable public outcome would likely be rampant starvation.