Emotion is a powerful thing. Many people make decisions based on emotion and not science. There is some irony in all of this based on our scientific knowledge has never been higher. We know more about the genome of plants than ever before in our history. Yet at the same time emotions are high and science is trying to win a war versus emotional scientific illiteracy. We are living a very strange time in regards to emotion versus science. Our regulatory system is becoming larger to make sure we test everything for human safety. Yet when something is proven to be safe scientifically we still rely on our emotions or a celebrity in some cases to guide our decisions making.
I talked to Dr. Joe Schwarcz from McGill University at the Tiffin Conference what he thinks about the future of genetically modified food and what role science plays in dealing with people’s emotional decisions.
Genetically modified plants and food are the flagship of emotional decision making. GM traits are the most highly regulated and tested research in North America. This is actually one of the reasons that smaller companies have trouble competing in the development of GM traits. The regulatory costs are substantial and continue to increase.
How do you make decisions in your house with food. Do you think are food system is safe? Do wish there was more labelling of products in the grocery store? Would it make a difference to you in the grocery store if genetically modified ingredients were labelled?
Please register to read and comment.