What is “being lost” as GMOs become a “trendy identifier?” In a scathing op-ed penned for The Washington Post, Michael Gerson (@MJGerson), suggests that the move to nix GMOs by companies such as Chipotle, represent “a noteworthy cultural development: the systematic incorporation of anti-scientific attitudes into corporate branding strategies.”

 

“But Chipotle, Whole Foods and those who follow their examples are doing real social harm. They are polluting public discourse on scientific matters. They are legitimizing an approach to science that elevates Internet medical diagnosis, social media technological consensus and discredited studies in obscure journals. They are contributing to a political atmosphere in which people pick their scientific views to fit their ideologies, predispositions and obsessions. And they are undermining public trust in legitimate scientific authority, which undermines the possibility of rational public policy on a range of issues.

Whatever the intention of those involved, embracing pseudoscience as the centerpiece of an advertising and branding effort is an act of corporate irresponsibility.”

 

Gerson is a nationally syndicated columnist who appears twice weekly in The Post. He is the author of “Heroic Conservatism” and co-author of “City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era”.  Gerson was a chief aide to President George W. Bush as assistant to the president for policy and strategic planning. This is a provocative piece: the rebuttals should be swift and equally stinging.

 

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