Science, GMOs and Why You Should Love It

While I primarily work with rhetoric and words, I have a deep seated appreciation for science. Let me tell you why you should too.

First of all, science doesn’t require a leap of faith. Computers, medicine, astrophysics; they aren’t magic; they’re just science at work. Some fields may seem like they require faith because the concepts contained in them are so vast and involved, but that simply isn’t the case. Critics of science usually say that astrophysics and other hard sciences require a leap of faith because they (the critics) don’t understand it. Well, of course not! To reach that level it’s like building a skyscraper. You have to clear the ground and lay a foundation (basic math), from there you have to put in support beams (algebra), then you can start adding layers (physics, calculus, etc.). Without this foundation to stand on of course everything seems like magic. This is simply someone mistaking their own ignorance of a subject for that subject being beyond understanding.

It still amazes me that science has so many critics and idiots in opposition to it. People who plug their Facebook page with anti-science sentiments while using a computer and being alive probably due to advancements in medicine prior to their birth.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." -Charles Darwin

In science, if a theory is proven to be wrong, it is discarded. No crying, no feet stomping, no separate sects forming, no reformations, just throw it out. It’s useless to the advancement of science from then on out. It is this willingness to throw out incorrect information that makes science so amazing.

I wish that more people thought like scientists. Where beliefs and incorrect information, no matter how sacred, are discarded without tears or tantrum in favor of demonstrable, repeatable, fact based evidence that may be contrary to what we already know.

Instead we have assholes that fight against science without pausing to consider the ramifications of their fight. This leads to people fighting against Aspartame, GMO crops, and things that are “unnatural.”
The latest trend is “if you read the label and you can’t pronounce it or spell it, don’t eat it!”

Okay, well let’s test that theory. Here are some ingredients: Thiamine, Fructose, Cellulose, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Zinc.
Some of these words aren’t very common, anti-science food weirdoes probably wouldn’t eat this product.
What is this insidious and evil product?

Yeah, I know.

Then comes the fight against GMO products. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism which sounds scary, but sorry, science is direct and to the point, it doesn’t care if terms sound scary to you or not. They attempt to describe quickly and accurately. Would we be having this problem if they were called GPO’s (Genetically Purified Organisms)? No, that sounds like apples made by Hitler.

Basically, a GMO is… well, pretty much everything. Like bananas? Cool, me too. We’ve been eating the same cloned species of banana for about seventy years, which is itself a descendant of the first domesticated (modified) varieties from about ten thousand years ago. Prior to that there were roughly two different species of bananas domesticated, grown and sold in stores. But disease rampaged one but did not affect the other. Therefore, we have only the one species now. Resistant to disease, huh? Sounds UNNATURAL.

Genetic modification works by either selecting specific genes in an organism to present more strongly, or, more commonly, by artificial selection. Despite what Greenpeace and other whack jobs want you to believe, THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO ANIMAL GENES TRANSPLANTED INTO FRUIT, GRAIN OR VEGETABLES. It simply doesn’t happen. Terms like “Franken food” are misleading and stupid. Here’s how it works, let’s do some roleplaying.

Hi, I’m an (evil) scientist, specifically a microbiologist. Greenpeace and assorted food idiots hate my guts and compare me to Dr. Frankenstein (who is also a pretty good guy but that is another blog). Well, I recently heard that in third world countries there are people STARVING TO DEATH. I will go and help them using the power of SCIENCE!

I notice that the locals’ wheat isn’t producing enough food for people to eat. Well, what if we speed up breeding by using the two growing seasons available in this country? During summer, we’ll breed in the highlands, like what was being done before, but then we’ll take the needs north to a valley with different altitudes and temperatures. Eureka! More crops every year and more food for starving people!

But wait, only the best seeds were selected to be moved from one location to another, and in a short time they started developing resistances to photoperiodism, which is a natural reaction of organisms to day/night cycle changes. This meant that the wheat could now be grown in both regions, nearly all year.

I have created a GMO wheat crop that is saving people’s lives!
“You monster! You’re creating Franken food! They’re KILLING Mother Earth and altering our food!”

But I saved a lot of people from starvation and now we have MORE food for people to eat! I’ll take my techniques and my research and travel to another third world country where people are starving to death. I’ll bet I can help them with science also!
“Evil!”
After many years I have improved wheat and rice strains so that they are resistant to disease, weather, and other conditions. I am awarded a Nobel peace prize for my work and it is estimated that I have saved over a BILLION people.

But now this has happened…

People in countries that don’t have problems relating to starvation are trying to undo my life’s work trying to save people.

Pretty compelling story, isn’t it? Well, it’s a true story. The man that I “role-played” for you there is Norman Borlaug. He has saved over a billion lives by using artificial selection and other techniques to make crops more resistant while yielding more food for people to eat. He dedicated his life to try to feed the entire world through science and now, every day, Greenpeace and other morons disrespect him and his work by protesting GMO food. Remember the part where he immediately transplanted the seeds? There was a scientific theory in place that proclaimed you couldn’t do that, they needed a ‘rest’ period before being planted. When Borlaug’s boss upheld this theory he resigned. The dispute was eventually settled and Borlaug was proven correct. This incorrect theory? Discarded. I could tell you its name, but it doesn’t really matter now, does it?

But what about the health risks of GMO foods?

Well, nothing. GMO food products are some of the most tested products on the market and are still stamped safe to eat by the EPA and FDA.

If it’s GMO, astrophysics or evolution, science is working towards a brighter future. I could write a ten thousand word blog entry on science explaining to you everything it has already done for it and has the potential to do for us, but I think it’s time you discovered some of this for yourself.

Next time you sit down to eat breakfast, pop open your phone, tablet, laptop or whatever. Go to a search engine and type in the name of something you’re eating. Ham and onion omelet? Look up onions. They help prevent cancer cell growth. Using artificial selection, we could selectively breed a crop of onions that were extremely effective at inhibiting cancer cell growth. See where this is going? Science allows us to know these things, more importantly, science allows us to do these things.

Science doesn’t ask for your faith, it’s true if you believe it or not.
Please, watch the video below and I will see you here next week.

For more awesome science information, you can purchase books by or watch documentaries featuring the following:

Norman Borlaug, Carl Sagan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Isaac Newton, Brian Cox, Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein… I could go on, but start there.