Aug 10, 2017
Episode 18: Food Evolution Documentary and Chewing the Fat on
GMOs
This week Ben, Celestia, and Pascual open with a discussion on what
people consider uncanny, bizarre, or strange. What takes something
from implausible to downright mysterious? An understanding of
statistics is one angle to consider, but ignorance of particular
fields is also at work: from the World Trade Center to the pyramids
to cancer remissions, people who lack the relevant technical
knowledge are the ones gobsmacked by particular events or facts.
Headline writers emphasize this “bizarre” aspect without providing
context, leading many to jump right to conspiracy theories or
supernatural explanations.
Then Celestia, back from the 2017 meeting of the Institute of Food
Technologists, discusses the new GMO documentary, Food Evolution.
The film was funded by IFT but director Scott Hamilton Kennedy was
given complete control over topic, content, and approach, and he
chose to tackle the human side of the GMO/organic controversy.
Kennedy did a beautiful job bringing the human element to the
forefront and takes viewers along a persuasive narrative of finding
common ground and changing minds. Celestia, Pascual, and Ben touch
on hot button topics like GMO labeling, evil corporations like
Monsanto, and patenting living organisms. We also discuss the
negative feedback the movie has so far received, and the strength
(or rather lack of strength) in the arguments that the anti-GMO
crowd has put forth. Namely, a Huffington Post columnist supported
by organic industries decries the appearance of a logo in the
film’s background, and Mike Adams calls Neil deGrasse Tyson a race
traitor.
Lastly, we let you know how to check for a screening of Food
Evolution in your area, and give shoutouts to some online resources
for anyone wanting to learn more about GMO tech.