By Mike Barnett

A recent post on Facebook explains a lot about the confusion over food.

It’s called ignorance.

Ignorance is not the same as stupidity. People generally are not stupid. But a whole lot of them have a lack of knowledge or information. That’s called ignorance.

This was displayed on a video segment  posted about GMOs on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night television show. In that segment, Kimmel asked people on the street if they wanted GMOs in their food. Then he asked them if they knew what GMO stood for.

By Gene Hall

The head of the Genetic Literacy Project, John Entine, writes recently in Forbes magazine that a pair of animal science researchers studied evidence of livestock feeding before and after the introduction of genetically modified grain. What did they find? Nothing—no evidence of any difference in feeding GMO grain to livestock.

Science has, of course, concluded the same long ago, but we have to keep explaining, I guess. I’ll take a turn. University of California-Davis Department of Animal Science geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam and research assistant Amy E. Young reviewed 29 years of livestock productivity and health data from both before and after the introduction of genetically engineered animal feed.

By Gene Hall

It’s always refreshing to see a legal matter settled on the basis of law and fact rather than emotion, overheated rhetoric and political theory. This was the case in Hawaii a few days ago when a federal judge ruled against Kauai County’s aggressive and anti-farmer Ordinance 960.

It’s not that silly laws never win in court, but this one, sillier than most, was turned back, though on more narrow grounds than I believe were justified.  Kauai County Ordinance 960 was passed some months ago with very strict curbs on many agricultural practices and the agribusiness firms that operate there. Included were restrictions on pesticide use and biotechnology, or GMOs if you will. The trouble is, that’s the state’s job—one that Hawaii performs aggressively.

By Mike Barnett

Genetically modified organisms. GMOs.

I’m not sure who thought up the nomenclature for this biotech wonder, but the acronym GMO probably contributes more to public fear and misunderstanding than anything else.

GMO. It sounds scary. Genetically Modified Organisms. That’s even more frightening. Those are words and phrases activists can hang their hat on, and let me tell you, they’ve done one fine job of hanging hats.

By Gene Hall

Here I am, trying to communicate complex ideas about the science of agriculture, navigating a broken political system and looking for serious people to debate in a serious way. Then, turn a rhetorical corner, start making progress, and you are bludgeoned with the deadly “one-word argument.”

I’d really like some help here. Looking for answers on immigration reform? NO! #AMNESTY!–in all caps shouting. Start laying out the overwhelming evidence supporting the safety and environmental benefits of biotechnology (GMOs) in food and you get–#MONSANTO!–as if that settled the argument.