Anti-science rhetoric is coming from prominent left-wing figures like liberal talk show host Bill Maher. As a liberal myself — and especially as a scientist — I find the present situation to be particularly disturbing.
There is indeed a real problem, but problems have solutions. And the first step to solving problems is to identify and understand them. Some liberals are just as bad, or at least almost, as creationism-believing conservatives when it comes to spreading pseudoscience.
For 20 years scientists have genetically modified foods (e.g., corn, soybean) to be more resistant to things like disease and insects, while richer in nutrients and healthier overall. Essentially, their genetic tweaks are creating superhero plants, which regrettably look more like scary mutants in the eyes of the fearful.
But this time the fearful predominantly consists of liberals rather than Fox News-obsessed conservatives. These people hold the belief that any gene-tinkerings will produce Franken-foods capable of causing illnesses and tumors.
The liberal-driven anti-GMO movement is proof that poor decision-making rooted in irrational fear is not behavior restricted to those on the right. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that genetically-altered foods are as safe as any, some ultra-environmentalist types want to see the GMO industry burn to the ground, quite literally. This is a great misfortune considering all the good that GM crops and their high yields could do for some very important liberal causes, like the global fight against hunger. You would think that those in support of greater spending on education would do a little bit more to educate themselves.
Read full, original article: Spreading Pseudoscience: 5 Reasons Why Some Liberals Are as Bad as Conservatives
