Your friendly store owner here. Im posting today to say that Ive had enough. I will not longer say Im anti-GMO or pro-organic or pro nutritional supplements. The echo chamber that has grown up around all sides of these (and so many other) topics is as much a source of lies and distorted truths as it is likely to contain something that is actual reality. The whole idea of having an open, inquiring mind is that you dont cherry pick your facts or your studies or the people you listen to. If youre anti-GMO and one of your arguments is shown to be bogus, then it is time to no longer rely on that argument, right? But time and time again, I find my side of the controversy to be indulging in lies of exaggeration, minimization, omission, and outright fabrication. That is a really stupid strategy. It guarantees that you will lose credibility when you end up having to grasp at straws to prove your point. (Of course, the pro-GMO side does this too, but that does not excuse this behavior in anti-GMO activists.) This is what I will say. I am pro skepticism. I am pro scientific method. I am pro precautionary principle. I favor studies done and funded by unbiased sources. I am pro transparency. The precautionary principle alone is reason enough to avoid genetically grown foods and foods grown with synthetic pesticides Transparency alone is enough to support the labeling of GMO ingredients (and, I would argue, to label synthetic inputs in conventional crops). I am tired of people telling me that they have done the research when they really just accumulated information from a Google search that supports their preexisting stance. I dont think its unrealistic to ask for an intelligent dialogue about issues as profound as the manipulation of the genetic code for profit, or whether or not we need to use toxic synthetic agricultural chemicals to feed the world. It seems to me that just by posing these kinds of questions we can begin to make serious headway, and by taking the high road when looking at evidence we will find many more allies. There are times when I think that the most powerful thing we can say is, I dont know and be OK with it. In those times, stating that we dont know is NOT an inication of weakness - it is sign of intelligence and humility. And our world could use a lot more humility right now. - Stephen
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 16:35:30 +0000
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