Yum, yoga mat! List of foods that include this new food group!

[Scootaloo]

34. It bothers me in the way they go about it

I completely understand the concerns and support the need for regulations and strictures and all that stuff, but people go about it in such a spacey, new-agey, fuzzy-headed way that they essentially neuter the issue.

Take GMO labelling. Good example of fuzzy-headedness, on two levels. First off, "genetically modified" is a really broad term. It doesn't just mean "dudes in labcoats playing with genomes" but also "dudes in overalls having the stud bull cover ol' Bessy." Every domesticated organism we have is "genetically modified" and a canny corporation would certainly exploit this - if every food is labeled "GMO" then what the hell are you going to buy? because - the second point of fuzziness - is that simply slapping a "GMO" label on something doesn't tell you anything about it. Golden rice - engineered so that it produces beta-carotine in the kernel - would be labeled exactly the same as cornmeal made from maize that produced its own gnarly antibiotics and nicotinoid insecticides.

Don't like GMO foods? That's fine, be as against them as you want, I may not share EVERY concern, but I share some of them and have no problem with you having 'em... but if you're going to oppose it, oppose it in a way that works - campaign against the patenting of genes and organisms.

Same with this issue. If there are harmful chemicals in food, hell yes, campaign against those chemicals being used! get the facts, present them, and hammer it like John Henry on speed. But don't just throw a "CHEMICALS!" blanket around, becuase it makes your campaign look ill-informed and a little hysterical. Avoid the "one molecule away from plastic!" arguments. Make the debate about the actual problem, which could be a specific substance, or the overall laxity if the FDA - in which case you still should have plenty of solid facts to launch from.

it bothers me because I see these wobbly, half-baked efforts as more damaging to the cause than helpful. It's like, the posters running around DU right now yelling "PUTIN IS JUST LIKE HITLER!" - I get their point, but he's not just like Hitler and the comparison just makes them look dumb and undermines their entire point.