Genetically modified foods should not require distinguishing labels by Nazar Aljassar | Aug 28 2014 | 6 hours ago A new brand of Luddism has erupted in America. In spite of ample scientific evidence that corroborates the biosafety of genetic modification of crops, over half of Americans believe genetically modified foods are unsafe, with 93 percent in favor of mandatory labels on genetically modified food. Part of the objection to genetically modified crops stems from a belief that natural foods are superior to unnatural foods a naturalistic fallacy. Nothing is intrinsically virtuous about consuming food crops that are grown naturally. Unfortunately, appeals to nature and tradition have hijacked the discourse surrounding genetic modification. Its important to note that all agriculture is unnatural. Any claim about the extent to which food crops are natural is meaningless. Agriculture is the largest and most enduring human intervention into the natural world. Through selective breeding, farmers have artificially created several crops for human consumption. Kale and kohlrabi were developed from wild mustard after decades of careful heredity manipulation. Artificial selection has given rise to high-quality strains of soybeans, wheat and corn, all of which have been a boon to civilization. Artificial selection and artificial … Continue reading →