Debunking ‘Junk’
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In his Globe & Mail column on August 31, Gwyn Morgan reports that he’s fed up with “scientifically illiterate” victims of “junk science” – proponents of organic food and people concerned with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified foods. He claims they’re driving some businesses out of business.
Well, here’s some “hard science” for him: last October’s International Agricultural Assessment of Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) – an academic study supported by the UN, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization - concludes that “Business as usual is not an option if we want to achieve environmental sustainability.” One of the IAASTD’s key recommendations is to ”reduce agrochemical inputs (particularly pesticides and synthetic fertilizers).”
But that’s just the tip of the report’s very readable recommendations. It also points to the need for a transformed world view of how markets, people, food, and many kinds of scientific knowledge must work together with a renewed respect for natural systems. Clearly, some industry-supported studies may return ostrich heads to the sand; however, the health and well-being of the planet and millions of people around the globe are at stake.
Why dismiss and insult those trying to make a difference by starting in their own back yards?
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