Bill Nye, who was once known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy”, has since resurfaced as a commentator and news analyst. He had also been known as an anti-GMO scientist, yet his views on GMOs have recently changed, which left many wondering, “Why?”
In 2005, Nye aired an episode of his show that touched upon the topic of GMOs. The message: “Let’s farm responsibly, let’s require labels on our foods, and let’s carefully test these foods case by case.” In November of 2014, Nye published his book, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, in which he expressed concern about the unintended consequences of using GMOs.
Among the concerns cited were the decline of monarch butterflies which largely rely on milkweed—most milkweed in the Midwest has been wiped out by GMO-enabled herbicide use. He had at the time condoned the use of some GMOs, such as corn that has been engineered to repel insects, but he concludes:
“If you’re asking me, we should stop introducing genes from one species into another,” because “we just can’t know what will happen to other species in that modified species’ ecosystem.”
For those who are unclear on how GMOs work, it is a process in which scientists extract DNA from one species of plant or animal, and insert it into another. For instance, a gene from a fish might be put into a tomato to keep it from freezing during the winter.
After visiting Monsanto, Nye has changed his tune:
“I went to Monsanto and I spent a lot of time with the scientists there and I have revised my outlook and I am very excited about telling the world,” Nye said during an interview with Real Time’s Miles Leicher. “When you’re in love you want to tell the world.”
(Starting at 3:37)
The same arguments in favor of GMOs are being made by the many reports which seem to have caused Bill Nye’s change of heart: “Study after study has indicated that GMO food carries no more risk than its non-modified counterpart,” however these reports are usually concluded with something along the lines of, “There will be examples of bad cases, bad combinations, and bad outcomes, just as there are bad crops.” Are you sufficiently confused? Well, that’s how scientists distance themselves from any negative consequences that might occur from consuming GMOs, regardless of their “belief” that GMOs are perfectly safe.
There are some activists that believe Nye was either paid off, or has finally succumbed to professional peer-pressure. Whatever his reasons, Nye has made a 180 on his GMO policy, and he he won’t say why. He hasn’t elaborated on what made him change his mind, nor will he reveal exactly what his new view on GMOs is. Instead, he’s going to revise the chapter in his book which focuses on GMOs. Apparently if the world wants to know his new stance on the topic, it too would have to fork over money to buy his book.
Sources:
Dickerson, Kelly. Business Insider. Mar 4, 2015. (http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-nyes-stance-on-gmos-2015-3)
Hammontree, John. AL. Mar 5, 2015. (http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/03/was_bill_nye_the_science_guy_b.html)
Philpott, Tom. Mother Jones. Mar 4, 2015. (http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2015/03/what-did-monsanto-show-bill-nye-make-him-stop-worrying-and-love-gmos)
Vibes, John. True Activist. Mar 6, 2015. (http://www.trueactivist.com/bill-nye-changes-his-mind-about-gmos-says-he-is-in-love-with-monsanto/)
Apparently Monsanto developed a chemical that disrupts human thought processing and tried it out on Bill Nye with phenomenal success.
Bill Nye Monsanto Guy. I wonder how much they paid him?
Bullshit. Nye has told why. Whoever wrote this fucking piece is full of shit.
He changed his mind after visiting Monsanto…
Say for example, you would visit Al Capone, and he would say:
“Thanks for your visit,
now I like you and your work, always very entertaining,
but you are working for me now, or you will not leave this place.”
You would change your mind too.
nice link.
I think Bill has got a book to sell.
I find this whole advertising style rather creepy which is so prevalent in America. I’ll give you a interview as long as I can promote my book etc etc.
There is something utterly funny with this article :
“Well, that’s how scientists distance themselves from any negative consequences that might occur from consuming GMOs, regardless of their “belief” that GMOs are perfectly safe.”
So you’re basically saying that if scientists believe something to be true, they will turn down every evidence that it is false (which is by the way nonsense for any self-respecting scientist).
And you’re right here, right now, turning down the evidence that scientific studies, as Nye says, shows that OMGs are not more harmful than non OMGs, in the sake of BELIEVING that they cannot be safe.
Funny, isn’t it?
Bill Nye is America’s David Suzuki, a know it all on every subject who isn’t actually a scientist or intelligent, but that doesn’t stop the media from passing him off as a credible source.