Most high-profile chefs – or at least the ones on TV that have influenced whole generations of ‘foodies’ – are anti-GMO, and if the food and biotech industry wants to change the conversation on GE crops it needs to engage with them, delegates at IFT were told. Speaking at the session on GMOs that was focused on moving beyond the ‘he said, she said’ arguments about the technology, ‘The Taste of Tomorrow’ author Josh Schonwald said the food industry should focus on trying to engage people that consumers actually listen to.
“Chefs are like rockstars in our culture today. People listen to them. So what are we doing in the food science community to educate them?”
Instead of wheeling out all the reputable scientific organizations that say GMOs are safe, ‘big food’ might be better off heading to the Culinary Institute of America, the Research Chefs Association or calling up some TV chefs to ask them what they know about genetic engineering, and why they are worried about it, he said. And the reasons are likely more emotional and political than fact-based, he said. “The cornerstone of the food movement is that if something is affordable, durable and available, it’s not ‘special.'”
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Read the full, original article: Chefs! Is it time to proudly serve GMOs on your table?
