The anti-GMO movement reminds me of the 80's...

[Archae]

The anti-GMO people remind me of the 1980's "satanic panic" groups, that resulted in people going to jail for "crimes" that never happened.

The "thinking" was dominated by hysteria, wild accusations, bullying by "therapists," ambitious politicians, and flat-out profit margins.

The "satanic panic" hasn't died out completely, either.

http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2013/05/535-rebecca-brown.html

http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2014/12/1236-mike-warnke.html

http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2014/01/862-bob-larson.html

http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2014/03/976-diana-napolis.html

This anti-GMO movement is being driven by three main groups.
(Although some belong to combinations of the three groups)

1. Those who are certifiably paranoid schizophrenic.
"The voices in my head tell me not to eat GMO's!"

2. Those with an agenda, to hell with anything that gets in the way of that agenda.
"Only natural advocates are eating the right food!"

3. Money.
Organic producers charge up the wazoo for their products.

[Bluenorthwest]

1. The 80's remind me that mainstream science had no clue and zero courage in confronting AIDS

but then again, neither did the government of this nation, nor it's apathetic people under the Ghoul Ronald Regan. The 80's remind me that you straight 'Christians' are willing to watch your neighbors die by the thousands while you do nothing, then you attack the victims. For decades.

The 80's reminds me that I do not want to vote for that bigoted Christian running for office.

[Archae]

2. Unfortunately, even back then there were profit-minded con artists, regarding AIDS.

I remember seeing two guys who sold "Anti-AIDS Cleanser" at inflated prices to scared parents, mostly.

Their spiel was "Keep AIDS away from your children."

Don't forget the quacks and con men who sold "cures" for AIDS, including faith healing and sugar pills.

[cpwm17]

3. The McMartin Preschool child abuse conspiracy hoax and trial - HBO Movie: Indictment

This movie is about the well publicized 1983 through 1990 McMartin Preschool child abuse scandal where adults coerced from kids hundreds of accusation against the preschool workers:

Due to the work of a selfish and unethical prosecutor and media, terrible judges, an evil child worker that claimed expertise that she didn't have, and the accusations of a mentally ill mother, workers at the McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach, California went through hell.

This shows the danger of what can happen when irrational conspiracies are promoted and none scientific thinking takes hold. Anyone with any common sense with proper knowledge of the evidence in this case should have know that these accusation were bogus. But this turned into of one of the longest and most expensive trials in American history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial

The McMartin preschool trial was a day care sexual abuse case of the 1980s, prosecuted by the Los Angeles District Attorney Ira Reiner. Members of the McMartin family, who operated a preschool in California, were charged with numerous acts of sexual abuse of children in their care. Accusations were made in 1983. Arrests and the pretrial investigation ran from 1984 to 1987, and the trial ran from 1987 to 1990. After six years of criminal trials, no convictions were obtained, and all charges were dropped in 1990. When the trial ended in 1990 it had been the longest and most expensive criminal trial in American history. The case was part of day-care sex-abuse hysteria, a moral panic over alleged Satanic ritual abuse in the 1980s and early 1990s.

[HuckleB]

4. Yup, though I look at number one as more a religious belief.

Some folks just get caught up in supporting extreme accusations, and evidence just doesn't matter. They have decided that there is an enemy, and they will fight that enemy with every fiction tossed at them by those who have promoted the false beliefs. It's really amazing, in some ways. But, of course, humans have repeated the pattern for years.

It's also interesting to see so many people who took a science class or two suddenly think they can understand the topic just by reading anti-GMO propaganda. Overconfidence is another interesting phenomenon.

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/what-causes-overconfidence/

[Archae]

5. The worst part is the "gurus" that keep cranking out their propaganda.

Like Steven Druker and Jeffrey Smith.

Both have the scientific credentials of a sneaker in a landfill, yet they put out alarmist books, yelling "Frankenfoods!" "Poison!" "Cancer!" etc.

In the meantime, they keep pushing for mandatory labeling, which is stage 2 of their propaganda campaign.
(Stage 1 being the demonization of GMO's.)

This goes on in other woo, also, as you've noticed.
Like this ditwit who keeps trying to shove his mythology into science classes in public schools.
http://americanloons.blogspot.ca/2016/03/1612-clayton-fiscus.html

Apparently calling something that is woo, woo, is now grounds for ridicule at best, like when I mentioned how Nancy Reagan had White House business scheduled according to astrology.

[HuckleB]

6. Yeah, that Reagan/astrology response was odd, indeed.

The lack of reason is astounding to see.

[Dont call me Shirley]

7. False equivalence trying to link people concerned about their health to devil worshipping cults.

[HuckleB]

8. Anti-GMO is not about health concerns.

Last edited Wed Mar 9, 2016, 09:07 PM - Edit history (1)

It's about believing in fictitious evil, just like the the people who imagined devil worshipping cults. So it's quite equivalent.

For instance, DU is full of people blasting glyphosate, and focusing on the one organization that says it is a "probably carcinogen," much like shift work, btw. Somehow, those same people ignore the reality that glyphosate replaced much more toxic products, and the reality that the science doesn't seem to support the IARC.

http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2015/03/glyphosate-and-cancer-what-does-the-data-say/

http://www.crediblehulk.org/index.php/2015/06/02/about-those-more-caustic-herbicides-that-glyphosate-helped-replace-by-credible-hulk/

[Archae]

9. 30 years from now...

We are going to be looking back at the hysteria being spouted by anti-GMO con artists, the same way we look at the "Satanic Panic" bullshit spreaders now.

As deluded and opportunistic frauds.

And most of us will be happily munching on our GMO food, being healthy and not chronically short of money.

The New York Times at one time published an editorial "proving scientifically" that powered flight was impossible.

The New York Times at one time published an editorial "proving scientifically" that space travel was impossible.

Gee, they sure were correct, weren't they?

[Dont call me Shirley]

10. 30 years from now people will be so diseased from gmos, the pesticides, herbicides, and chemical

fertilizers need to grow this crap people will put an end to this.

[Archae]

11. The panic-spreaders said that 50 years ago. 100 years ago. 1,000 years ago. etc...

Funny, I don't see us humans as doomed...

[Dont call me Shirley]

12. The diseases from these chemicals and contorted genes are REAL and they are happening now!

Tell people face to face who have tumors and cancer from this crap that it is safe!

[Archae]

13. People had cancer and tumors 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago.

And they died a lot more often from it.

Among the Pilgrims, 50 was a ripe old age.

I just posted a "prediction" that one of these televangelists made, that the "End Of the World" is near.

Your "prediction is just as credible

[Dont call me Shirley]

20. OH My God! Thanks I had breast cancer!

[HuckleB]

21. I'm sorry that you had to go through that, but your response makes no sense.

[gratuitous]

14. There does seem to be one group missing, isn't there?

The folks who think that screwing around with our food supply and concentrating the power to grow food into fewer and fewer hands isn't really a good idea. Some of us have seen and experienced the very real hazards of monoculture and didn't much care for them, woo hippies that we are.

[HuckleB]

19. It sounds like you're convoluting issues with corporations and monoculture with GMOs.

That's really not helpful. GMOs are simply the plants developed using GE technology. Those companies make non-GMO seeds, as well, including ones used for "organic" farms. Non-GMO seeds are also used in monoculture settings.

[Zorra]

15. The pro-GMO movement reminds me of the '50s!

[G_j]

16. yep, all good!

[Bonx]

17. Are people smoking their produce ?

[HuckleB]

18. Indeed: Anti-GMO activists are the ones practicing “tobacco science”.

http://fafdl.org/blog/2015/05/19/anti-gmo-activists-are-the-ones-practicing-tobacco-science/