We released a report this week showing that a number of prominent left-wing environmental groups cherry-pick scientific evidence by denying a scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs while affirming other scientific consensuses that support their agendas. Coincidentally (or not), organic food activist and notorious food scold Marion Nestle of New York University gave us yet another example of this on her blog. She asked, “Why should the public trust GMOs? They are under corporate control and not labeled.”
Nestle ought to look up “non sequitur” in the dictionary. Her statement defies scientific consensus as expressed by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), among other scientific authorities. All major scientific academies including the Royal Society of London, the American National Academy of Sciences, and the World Health Organization find genetically improved foods safe for consumption. And GMO labeling is also condemned by the American scientific communities: AAAS found that “Legally mandating labels on GM foods could therefore ‘mislead and falsely alarm consumers.’”
The AMA felt similarly, telling the Los Angeles Times: “The science-based labeling policies of the FDA do not support special product labeling without evidence of material differences between bioengineered foods and their traditional counterparts.” So not for the first time, but perhaps in the most obvious way to date, Maven Marion has gone against science.
Meanwhile, up Interstate 95 in Maine, the state governor has signed a bill putting the state on record denying science and requiring GMO labels once three other states have done the same. The measure might be unconstitutional under federal-state separation of powers rules, and exists simply as a favor to the organic food lobby. Don’t take our word for it, though. Here’s what the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association had to say about the measure:
We are thrilled that Gov. LePage has signed the GMO labeling bill. MOFGA supporters have worked tirelessly, organizing five different legislative campaigns on this issue since the early 1990s. The time was right for a diverse and collaborative effort to take hold and move the discussion forward.
As we’ve seen in the California and Washington State ballot measure campaigns, the money and energy behind this anti-scientific proposal isn’t from the grassroots, it’s from Big Organic. The truth about GMO labeling is that it’s a move by the top-down organic food industry — including cult soap manufacturer “Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap” — and its outside shills like Nestle and The New York Times’ Mark Bittman to scare consumers into buying their expensive products.
