Originally published December 4 2014
Neil deGrasse Tyson caught lying again, blurring distinction between GMOs and selective breeding
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Self-aggrandizing attention seeker and science bandit Neil deGrasse Tyson is back in the news after spouting more uneducated nonsense about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) during a recent interview. In a video clip posted to YouTube, Tyson is seen trying to convince his audience that people have been eating GMOs forever, spuriously likening selective breeding and artificial selection to the completely unnatural process of inserting foreign genes into typically unrelated organisms.
Fulfilling his destiny as the world's brashest science charlatan with a penchant for lying, Tyson emphatically patronizes his human deterrents by telling them to "chill out" and just eat up what the chemical industry has declared as food. In his view, GMOs are nothing new on the agricultural landscape, and the public should just shut up and accept them as a normal component of the modern human diet.
"I'm amazed how much objection genetically modified foods are receiving from the public," grunts Tyson arrogantly in the video. "What most people don't know, but they should, is that practically every food you buy in a store for consumption by humans is genetically modified food."
Even in a powerful and commanding tone, these statements are a complete fabrication. What Tyson is falsely implying here, and what he follows these statements up with in the video, refers to a process known as selective breeding in which farmers choose the best traits from related organisms -- generally of the same species -- and combine them to form a hybrid.
Selective breeding is a completely natural process that doesn't require dissecting plant DNA and restructuring it in a laboratory using genes from unrelated species -- or worse, pesticidal genes as in the case of Bt corn. And yet Tyson equates this process as being equivalent to genetic modification of the type foisted on the general public by the likes of Monsanto.
You can watch a video clip of Tyson's rant here:
YouTube.com.
Tyson suggests GMOs are necessary for human survival
When the video went viral and critics started to denounce such drivel, Tyson immediately went on the defensive claiming that, if given the opportunity, he would have stated things much differently. Apparently, he came to the self-realization that his argument was somewhat flawed, and required additional "nuanced points" to fully be understood.
On Facebook, Tyson posted a lengthy followup to his interview that addressed various aspects of biotechnology, including self-destructing seed technology and monopolistic agricultural business practices. On these points, he admits, his detractors may have valid concerns. But opposing the "entire concept of GMO" is intolerable, in his view.
This is because, in the world of Neil deGrasse Tyson, the only way humans can survive is by reconfiguring the genomic structures of all living organisms to make them "better." He includes biotechnology in this religious declaration, claiming that humans would go extinct if it weren't for the molecular tinkerings of biotech scientists.
Tyson suggests that humans have always done what "best serves our survival," which apparently includes things like mixing fish genes with those of bacteria. Without such abominations, humans would "have gone extinct," maintains Tyson.
Thankfully, fewer and fewer people are buying what Neil deGrasse Tyson is trying to sell them, and this is evidenced by the fact that the man is always having to come up with excuses as to why his statements are supposedly being taken out of context.
As we reported several months back, Tyson is a habitual liar who makes up "facts" and tries to sound witty and smart when he shares these "facts" with his followers. But in the internet age, making things up all the time and calling yourself a scientist won't fly forever, and Tyson is now having to come to grips with the fact that at least some people out there are paying attention.
Sources:
http://www.examiner.com
http://youtube.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://truthwiki.org/GMO_Dangers,_opinion
http://truthwiki.org/Genetically_modified_cr...
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