Special CBI Guest Blogger: Dr. Bruce Chassy
Professor, Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

David Tribe and I created the website Academics Review because there is so much misinformation about GM foods that is based on unfounded claims and shoddy thinking. When we read Genetic Roulette by Jeffrey Smith we were just astounded by the illogical, implausible and unfounded arguments he put forth against GM crops. Knowing that he is a gifted communicator who tells a good story, we became concerned that unsuspecting consumers who care about the safety and quality of their food might actually believe him so we created a website that analyzes every one of his anti-GM claims and finds each to be without merit. The experience has taught us how easy it is to fear-monger and peddle misinformation in the information age we live in today. As the late author Michael Crichton once observed, it’s the misinformation age, not the information age. We think that the role of the scientist must change to meet this new challenge to rationality and implore our colleagues to help set the record straight with the best available scientific evidence and thinking on a host of similarly misunderstood issues.