A reader curious about celebrities’ role in the radical environmental movement emailed me recently. He wondered if and their claims about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) were credible.
He was particularly interested in anti-GMO claims by Indian scientist Vandana Shiva. Shiva is no newbie to GMO. She speaks often against it. Her celebrity status gives her high visibility.
Recently, Shiva claimed that Bill Gates perpetuates Monsanto’s work by promoting GMO in India. She said GMO crops have a lower yield than non-GMO. She also said farmers would not choose GMO if not for Gates’s influence.
Her claims are baseless.
I come from a region with high agricultural output. I know many farmers. The Indian government has no control over their choices of seeds.
Farmers are concerned about their livelihood. Most prefer crops that give larger yield. Why? You can guess. They give higher profit margins.
Farmers prefer gene-edited crops. Only a few experiment with organic farming.
Many so-called “organic” products in India have high traces of toxins. That makes them dangerous. But they also cost twice as much as non-“organic.” Expensive, organic coconut oils from India sold in the United States may not be completely organic, despite certification.
Shiva is popular in the media. But 95% of the farmers I know (hundreds in my own family circle) reject her ideas.
India’s two major political parties support GMO. True, a few individuals side with the anti-GMO lobby. But the dominant position is based on solid scientific testing.
Yet anti-GMO groups have blocked GM crops through court interference. Shiva is a leading agent.
Shiva’s claims on GMO farming are false. She calls Golden Rice a hoax. Golden Rice is a GM variant that can help eradicate vitamin A deficiencies that cause blindness and death. Scientific authorities in nations like the US and Canada declare it safe and beneficial. Over 100 Nobel Laureates have hailed it.
Although Shiva is involved in an anti-GM cartel, she is ignorant about GM. She is neither a biologist nor an expert on genetic science. Her bachelor’s degree was in physics. She specialized in the philosophy of science. Her doctoral dissertation mused on the “hidden variables and locality in quantum theory.”
Vandana Shiva is a radical environmentalist. Her anti-GMO policies reduce poor farmers’ profits and deprive other poor people of affordable food. Pop-culture celebrities like her, who pontificate on matters on which they know little or nothing, are a menace to agricultural and economic development.
This article was originally published on Clash Daily.
Tom Steffen says
Disaster fear-mongers have inflated their parade balloon with “man consumes more than he produces” (a lie about man); “resources are limited and running out” (a lie about creation). They assume “overpopulation” based on their intellectual enslavement to materialism (a lie about God).
They have never forgiven Norman Borlaugh and the Green Revolution for exposing their foolishness. They are devoted to their Population Bomb. And India dared to push a needle into the parade balloon. India dared to grow more. Indians dared to live, when western Malthusians projected the masses would starve.
This worldview level animosity drives most of the anti-GMO publicity.
Garner says
There are continued frustrations for the consumer seeking healthy food, from healthy plants that aren’t blended with pesticide, or constructed in a way that may satiate hunger but create other issues in our complex God-designed bodies.
Josh McIntosh says
I agree, Garner. The complexity of our bodies is like the intricate climate system we try in vain to understand. The physiological indicators that medical professionals read as indicators of human ill health are probably giving us greater cause for concern about residual chemical in our food system than the climate indicators do about disaster due to change.
I agree wholeheartedly with the theological mandate to love our neighbour and not succumb to the propaganda surrounding climate change. I don’t see how the same rationale shouldn’t extend to ensuring the safety of the human food production system in regards to chemical residue.
Furthermore, how is it better to use substances that degrade soil health in place of God’s natural systems for our food production? The science and economics underpinning the advantages of natural growing methods is very clear. Organic farming is not the ecological and economic disaster many like to portray it as.
Karla says
I am trying to balance my thoughts about GMO foods.
I personally like to purchase heirloom seeds for my own garden so that I can keep seeds to replant year after year. I think this is good stewardship.
After the last 2 years of forced mandates, I do not trust the government to care for human life. There are many chemicals that are approved by the govt that are actually bad for human life, animal life, plant life and our water supply.
I realize that it is not possible to feed the world organically. But I certainly want the seeds and fertilizers used to be helpful to the health and nourishment of human bodies as well as livestock which we also consume. God has created our bodies to heal. We cannot expect health and well being while eating garbage. I think the decline of health all over the world is due to the amount of sugar and processed foods that are now consumed. The whole world has access to our junk food and soda now. Neither of these things are actually food. I am fortunate to live in an area where organic farming is thriving and many people choose to buy locally first, creating a sustainable system for the farmers and the population.
I think good stewardship begins by shopping/eating as locally as possible.