When will the GMO debate end?

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

In the January 2010 issue of Top Producer, I connected two obvious dots: First, people had consumed GMOs for decades, and second, people were not dropping in the streets from GMO poisoning. I predicted resistance to GMOs had proven futile and it was time to move on.

. . . .

. . . . Looking at this rancorous dispute years later, I now see it disintegrating into irrelevance on the scale of โ€œHow many angels can dance on the head of a pin?โ€โ€”an issue that haunted great thinkers in the Middle Ages.

First, bipartisan cooperation needed for negotiation has become synonymous with weakness. With so little political upside, outside a dwindling number of ag legislators, this issue has only risks for lawmakers. . . .ย politiciansย who choose to dodge the issue throughout their elected term do little reputational harm.

Second, even if you wanted to write GMO legislation and could get consensus, the next step will confound you. . . .ย Any definition you can come up with to identify a GMO can be rapidly nullified because of new technology or because it includes too many accepted products and natural processesย to be useful.

. . . .Weโ€™re asking a legislative system and culture that cannot agree on the meaning of โ€œnexus,โ€ or label restrooms, to precisely analyze and judge scientific tools. . .

. . . .

So how do I see the GMO debate ending? I donโ€™t. I can only echo the words of physicist Max Planck: โ€œTruth never triumphs; its opponents simply die out. Science advances one funeral at a time.โ€ The GMO impasse could gradually evaporate in exhaustion and obsolescence as a generational bugaboo, much like your grandmotherโ€™s fear of flying.

Read full, original post:ย Perspective: The GMO Debate Is About to Get Weirder

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}

Related Articles

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Does glyphosateโ€”the world's most heavily-used herbicideโ€”pose serious harm to humans? Is it carcinogenic? Those issues are of both legal and ...

Most Popular

Screen Shot at AM
Facts & Fallacies Podcast: Right-wing politics bad for your health? Separating speculation from science
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-13-2026-11_51_39-AM
Viewpoint: COVID lab leak? Misguided backers of the lab leak theory refuse to give up
drug look like ozempic
Six key health insights from taking weight-loss drugs
ChatGPT Image Jun 3, 2026, 03_54_37 PM
Viewpoint: โ€œTurn on, tune in, drop outโ€โ€”Kennedy embraces the Timothy Leary psychedelic revolution
Screenshot-2026-06-14-at-9.14.26-AM
โ€˜Humanitarian catastropheโ€™: Trumpโ€™s USAID shutdown could help drive nearly 23 million deaths โ€” including 5.4 million children โ€” by 2030, Lancet study warns
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-14-2026-09_41_44-AM-2
Viewpointโ€”โ€˜The gleeful efficiency of an arsonistโ€™: Administrationโ€™s health and science research cuts are โ€˜sabotagingโ€™ Americaโ€™s future
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-11-2026-01_15_03-PM
Selective Pressure, Selective Silence
Screenshot-2026-06-14-at-9.53.54-AM
Is the World Cup a perfect storm for the spread of infectious diseases?
ChatGPT Image Jun 3, 2026, 03_14_43 PM
Viewpoint: How Earthjustice became the poster child for the abuse of special interest activist funding
ChatGPT Image Jun 12, 2026, 02_32_14 PM
โ€˜Have you asked your doctor?โ€™: AMA launches campaign to counter health misinformation
ChatGPT-Image-Mar-10-2026-01_39_01-PM
Viewpointโ€”โ€œMiracle moleculeโ€ debunked: Why acemannan supplements donโ€™t work
Screenshot-2026-06-05-at-2.12.30-PM
Some plants can poison you. So how did humans figure out what is safe to eat?
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.