From vaccines to water fluoridation, anti-science sentiment has been a strong undercurrent in modern society, writes Henry Miller in Forbes.
Opponents of modern technology have had grave influences on biotechnology, spreading bad science and false claims about genetically modified organisms, which has led companies to reject the technology altogether in order to please consumers:
More than a decade ago, two of the largest producers of baby food in the United States, Heinz and Gerber, responded to intimidation by anti-technology activists by promising that they would use only non-genetically engineered ingredients for their products, even if they are inferior to or less safe than those made from genetically engineered plants. Putting it another way, they have chosen to boycott seeds modified to reduce the need to spray toxic chemical insecticides, and soybeans modified in ways that have environmental benefits and improve farmers’ bottom line.
Other food manufacturers have caved to the pressure of anti-GMO activists, discontinuing their use of disease-resistant potatoes or pest-resistant Bt-corn.
Such responses, Miller writes, bar the market from “deciding winners and losers” and “often result in consumers being deprived of superior goods and services.” To combat this issue, Miller suggests that companies start standing up for science.
What can be done? For a start, companies should refuse to capitulate to intimidation by activists. Instead, they should proclaim loudly, convincingly and often that they are committed to using the best technologies available to make the highest quality products that offer good value to their customers. Period.
Read the full, original story here: “Junk Science Attacks On Important Products And Technologies Diminish Us All”
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