RE: Science shouldn’t be decided in the courtroom
I thought the same when I saw the article on the weed killer. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Monsanto at all because of their business practices around their weed killers and GMO seeds. I don't think any company should own seeds once they are out in the wild, even GMO ones. I also believe that the burden of proof for many GMO products should be high, since once released, there is little we can do if they cause damage and we know for a fact that businesses will fight against individuals claiming damage. So while it seems unlikely that this weed killer could be definititively linked to a specific person's cancer, it does appear that there is evidence indicating that it is likely carcinogenic. This Center for Food Safety report sums it up well: "One important distinction here is that you can choose to wear sunscreen or drink less [alchohol], but for most of us it is difficult to
reduce our exposure to chemicals like glyphosate." Keep in mind that these companies often fight to obfuscate evidence that their products are harmful. On the whole I say no to them, unless they can be carefully contained, which, of course, they cannot be.
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On the whole I agree with you there, the burden of proof should be high (its very similar to vaccine development in this respect).
My view with this area of development, is that we are going to have to find ways to feed everyone during a century where population is increasing and the amount of land and fresh water for crops is reducing.
GMO and related pesticides are a spectacular way to do this. Us in high-income countries can fight against this because ultimately we’re always going to be largely fine either way, but development in this area is really going to be essential to avoid famine elsewhere. It’s really hard. I’m not arguing that we avoid the safety side, but instead trust in the scientific consensus, which currently has this product as a safe way to farm (much safer than the pesticide we used to use). Yes, science can be sometimes corrupted by big business but it is the only system of knowing that we have at our disposal.
But in the case of Roundup Ready crops, there are now so many weeds that are roundup resistant that farmers are now spraying other chemicals as well. So the chemical warfare just keeps escalating. Perhaps the real problem is overpopulation.