The Environment vs GMO's

Science and nature still locked in impasse

Earlier this year 14 year old Rachel Parent debates Kevin O'Leary  on the issue of GMO's.

This is a great example of the dynamic of science versus nature. The heated debate, like so many others of its kind, also reflects that people like to take a vehement stand. We fight for something we believe will have good results by standing against something we believe will have bad ones.

There is also no faster way to get publicity, than by offering folks the opportunity to say 'yay' or 'nay' to something that impacts their daily life; especially when it comes to our most basic needs. 

Parent admits she is against scientific interference of nature's organisms but also repeatedly makes clear her main point; that we be given a choice as consumers. She wants clear labeling on all GMO foods. David Suzuki's Queen of Green offers more insight into the debate by providing information that can help the consumer understand more about this very contentious issue. In this post, we find the bottom line again, that "It is the basic right to choice..." which is most at stake.

Shark Tank's, O'Leary, represents the corporate view very well. His hopes for a better food source are legitimate, yet, he doesn't appear to be well enough informed and seems to rely solely on Parent's young age to give him the edge in the debate. He even mentions his daughter; how she changed her mind about GMO's when she did the research. Unfortunately, his old-school approach cost him the debate. 

Is this old-school approach representative of the scientific community? In other words, are science and corporate interests inseparable as cooperators? It's what we've come to expect. Scientific research is costly and moves forward with financial support. Maybe we've left the support of our scientific community in the hands of established big business far too long. It's time to build new partnerships. Shift the direction of our future from a rigid bottom line that fears change. By now we've learned that our economy will not collapse if we change the way we do things. Green can also be big business.