It has always struck me as interesting that many of the same people who (justifiably) complain about climate-change deniers rejecting accepted science also (unjustifiably) reject the accepted science which demonstrates that genetically-modified foods are indistinguishable at a cellular level from traditional hybrids. If memory serves, the latter idea originated with the French agricultural industry: in other words, "where you stand depends on where you sit."
Fair point, but it occurs to me that what lies at the bottom of the criticism is the fear of handing over a little more control of our foods over to Big Corp, who have a long history of not giving a shit about you or me, e.g., bovine growth hormone, utterly unnecessary except to boost profits a bit. All this at a time when less and less oversight is available from underfunded regulatory offices.
It's a bit like social programs. Right-wingers regard any move in that regard as the thin edge of the wedge. So the GMOs. There are harmless (even superior) hybrids, and then there are new breeds of apples that don't brown when exposed to light for a long period of time. Except I might want to know how long the apple I'm about to eat has been exposed to light. And there are who knows what other "improvements" out there, not developed to make food better, or healthier, or more plentiful, but to cheapen its cost (at the expense of other things). And given that some of these changes will be proprietary so that we're not allowed to even KNOW what we're eating, I think it's sensible to be cautious.
When was the last time you bought a tomato that tasted like one? I can only get those from small gardens and local organic farmers.
It's not the hybridization that concerns anyone, it's who is doing it. When Monsanto develops a seed that forces a farmer to buy a specific fertilizer for it, and when the neighbouring farmer can be sued if a seed accidentally falls on his property, and when many states make it illegal for journalists to take pictures on some feed lots, you have to realize that you have to go a long way before people have any trust in the powerful players in this game.
You want people to trust GMOs, it's easy to do, just shine a light on them. Make all the information about them public, not hidden behind trademark and IP secrecy. It's what we put in our bodies, surely that still counts for something.
