Every time an outspoken pundit calls GMOs categorically unsafe it undermines decades of past and in-progress scientific research and reminds an entire industry of its vulnerability to the often-uninformed and/or misinformed bent of a public whose strong opinions about the food they eat and the food Canada grows are the veil disguising a pervasive and problematic ignorance.
Public opinion has become the molasses through which the agricultural industry must wade. It’s an uphill battle …. If sustainability, food security and the environment are, in fact, important issues, then getting outside your city to a farm is an absolute must.
When the government is forced to make regulatory reforms limiting farmers’ access to pesticides or other inputs because the people yelling in opposition are the loudest and won’t stop until change is promised, farmers are forced to pay attention to public trust.
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The industry is in a frenzy right now, attempting to decode the sludge that makes up public opinion while still getting used to the idea this is something that it needs to take seriously.
Read full, original article: Agriculture sector struggles to wade through the molasses of public opinion
