Michael Specter: The danger of science denial

Michael Specter, author of Denialism, the Keynote Speaker at ScienceOnline2010, spoke at TED conference a couple of months ago. The video of his TED talk is now up, and Michael wrote an editorial to go with it:

More like this

Good find! Oh dear, the youtube comments.... It's off to counter-trolls then.

By Cynic View (not verified) on 13 Apr 2010 #permalink

Oh, I bet. But I love how the Specter videos from Scio10 are all listed in "related videos" ;-)

Without labeling, mainstream consumers have been pretty much in the dark about the dangers of GMOs until now. News reports like this one are vitally necessary to inform and educate.

A CBS poll last year shows that the majority of Americans would avoid GM foods if they were labeled.

Industry leader, Supermarket News, predicts an upsurge in consumer awareness against GMOs this year.

A Neilson survey released just last month indicates that the Non-GMO label is the fastest-growing new label for store brands.

Strong medical positions against GMOs have been taken by leading health policy organizations like the American Public Health Association, and first responders like the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, recognized as the first organization to recognize causal trends for diseases such as Food Allergies, Chemical Sensitivity and the Gulf War Syndrome.

Those data show that paranoia is on the rise, while cannot say anything about GMO food itself, if it is dangerous or not. Just because more and more people say they would avoid it, does not mean it is because they are well informed - it is more likely that the paranoid opposition is successful in its PR.

it is more likely that the paranoid opposition is successful in its PR

cf. Health care reform