Anti-GMO activist’s talk moved from museum after failure to produce supporting data

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

The story was a simple one.  A Houston museum’s credibility was on the line when an employee booked an anti-GMO activist to come speak about “Poison in your food.”  Decades ago Dr. Theirry Vrain used to publish papers on nematology and relationship to DNA restriction-length polymorphisms (good times in the 80’s!), among other work. He’s been out of hard science for some time now.  Since, he uses that credibility to be one of a handful of credentialed scientists that makes the rounds spreading false information about food, farming and associated technologies.

. . . .

. . . [The museum] asked him for real data.  He didn’t produce it, so they asked that the event be moved to another more suitable venue. On his facebook page he claims that this is “Fascism”, and that’s laughable.  A museum asked for evidence to support claims. That’s not fascism, that’s science. Museums are places of evidence, not beliefs, and Vrain’s unsubstantiated claims would grey that line and even harm the museum’s reputation.

. . . thanks to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for standing up for science.  You set a standard and illuminated the need for vigilance in vetting speakers, something that can benefit all places of reputable science.

Read full, original post: Vrain’s Talk Underwhelmed; Claims of “Fascism”

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