Viewpoint: New book “A Matter of Taste” cuts through fog of ‘misinformation’ around GMOs and modern farming

The foodie ecosystem is dominated by polarizing movies….Typically containing stale feelings and claims of folks like Michael Pollan and Vandana Shiva (who was called by one scientist the “Nicholas Cage” of food films), lamenting the evils of modern farming and food production.

When a slim volume by Rebecca Tucker came my way, titled A Matter of Taste:  A Farmers’ Market Devotee’s Semi-Reluctant Argument for Inviting Scientific Innovation to the Dinner Table, I was pleasantly surprised to find someone had seen through the fog of misinformation provided by these films.

…

A Matter of Taste….[is] an overview of the central drama of good vs. evil food options, though Tucker does provide appetizers of the types of technology that have been (undeservedly?) demonized.

…

[Tucker] rapidly frames the discussion of food in the context of the battle of the good-and-pure small, slow, organic farming methods vs. the evil, industrialized production systems that most current films and aligned product marketing companies like Chipotle have promoted.

…

Innovations which loom large in food and farming are sufficiently described….Precision farming — enabling farmers to be “growing more on less” with technology — is explored. GMOs (or, as we call them now, bioengineered crops) and gene editing are identified as being unfairly fearmongered, and lab-based meat products are considered as part of the future mix of options….

Read full, original article: ‘A Matter of Taste: A Farmers’ Market Devotee’s Semi-Reluctant Argument for Inviting Scientific Innovation to the Dinner Table’ — book review