Why it Matters What Liberal Validators Say on GMOs

When Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks, people listen. I was on vacation when America's most prominent scientist made news for railing against GMO fearmongers. "Practically every food you buy in a store for consumption by humans is genetically modified food," he told a French interviewer. It was an impromptu, oversimplified response on a complex, hot-button subject, but Tyson's stance was clear to all: GMOs are nothing to be afraid of. He has since expanded on his views in a Facebook post that is well worth reading. (More on this in a minute.) Tyson did not intentionally thrust himself into the GMO debate. Nonetheless, what he said carries tremendous weight. What's interesting is how some are interpreting this importance. At Vox, Ezra Klein seizes on Tyson's statements as further proof of a key difference between agenda-setting liberals and conservatives on science. Sure, the liberal base of the Democratic party is anti-GMO, Klein acknowledges. But this hasn't mutated into the liberal equivalent of conservative climate denial, because the Democratic establishment--particularly its powerbrokers----haven't embraced the anti-GMO views of its base, he argues. This is true. In the 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama paid lip service to the nascent GMO labeling campaign, but has since steered clear of the battle. (And it is heating up.) The State Department during Obama's tenure has challenged international trade barriers that restrict products containing GMO ingredients. Last year, Obama infuriated the anti-GMO wing of his base when he signed the so-called "Monsanto Protection Act," (a much misunderstood bill). Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Democratic standard-bearer, has come out strongly in favor of crop biotechnology. As Klein correctly notes, "You don't see President Obama or Democratic congressional leaders pushing anti-GMO legislation." But this is a narrow lens to view GMO politics and policy. Consider the case of AquaBounty Technologies, the company that develops a genetically modified salmon. The transgenic fish has been stuck in a regulatory black hole for nearly two decades. A final decision by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), was set to be released in 2012, but opposition from environmental and consumer groups apparently nixed that. NGO's self-identifying as public interest groups are typically aligned with liberal causes. Many people, especially those who consider themselves progressive Democrats, presume these groups to be a force for good, motivated by truth and science. But as journalist Marc Gunther details in a recent Guardian piece, these groups don't deserve such trust on GMO issues. He specifically cites the AquaBounty case: