Just because the science is clear doesn't mean it's the whole story

It used to always be energy policy that divided environmentalists: is nuclear power a problem or a solution? Is natural gas just as bad as petroleum, or a useful transitional better-than?

Now that food policy has gone from being the subject everyone ignores to the subject everyone has opinions on, the thing ruining friendships is GMOs. Like all the best coalition-busting fights, the question of genetically modified food pits pragmatism against idealism and scientific progress against tradition. And like most food-related subjects, the debate has implications for not just the environment but also human health, local economies, and global relations.

Molly Ball's new Atlantic article on anti-GMO activism is must reading here; it's deeply reported and fair. Like a lot of analysis of the subject, it's all about clashes between politics and science: here's what activists say, here's what science says. Those who are if not pro-GMO at least skeptical of the skeptics have started to talk about the anti-GMO movement as akin to the anti-vaccination movement, or even global warming denialism or creationism: it's a denial of scientific evidence—in this case, that GMOs don't pose specific risks to the environment or to human health—in favor of a pick-an-expert approach that supports one's preexisting biases.