How to foster shoshin
This author&#x27;s example does not inspire confidence in the rest of the article:<p>&gt; &quot;Take the matter of genetically modified (GM) foods, which are overwhelmingly considered to be safe based on current scientific knowledge. Research has shown that people who hold the strongest anti-GM views, believing that they are harmful, are the most inclined to overestimate their relevant knowledge.&quot;<p>If I insert the genes coding the enzymatic pathway for production of a virulent mammalian toxin into a maize plant, that&#x27;s going to be very unsafe, particularly if pollen from that plant can carry those genes into someone&#x27;s non-GMO cornfield.<p>On the other hand, if I make a minor specific edit to the regulatory region upstream from a gene that controls the onset of flowering in a tomato plant, with the idea of producing an early-flowering varietal for northern climates, that&#x27;s entirely safe (assuming no other accidental changes were made).<p>Claiming that GMO foods are &#x27;universally acknowledged to be safe&#x27; is like claiming metallurgy is universally acknowledged to be safe.  It all depends on the specific application and how it&#x27;s done, e.g. heavy metal pollution is a major issue in many places because of lack of pollution controls.<p>Placing blind faith in governmental and corporate scientists because they wear the white coats of authority is not that different from blind obedience to the priestly caste of prior centuries. If they can&#x27;t provide explanations that the educated layperson can understand, and if they can&#x27;t respond to detailed criticisms of their claims, then they should not be trusted.