This story just goes to show how irrational some people within the anti-GMO crowd really are when it comes to biotechnology. It also acts as the perfect example of how willing they are to find some type of evil about GMOs — regardless of the facts.
The Lapine posted a satirical article claiming the genetically modified cucumbers were causing baldness…in the nether region. The article claims that a a 6 month study by an agriculture research group at a Canadian university found out the horrid truth about Monsanto’s genetically modified cucumbers. The fictitious scientists were tipped off by bald animals that were eating the cucumbers in the field. The article states:
“The bald wild animals raised a huge flag and we immediately obtained subpoenas for the medical records of all 600 plus adults who took part in focus groups and taste tests of the cucumbers by Monsanto in Canada,” said Dr. Nancy Walker, Director of Public Health Research at Dalhousie. “Fully 3/4 of the people who ate these cukes had their crotch area hair fall out. This is not a joking matter at all…these people now have hairless heinies.”
It would be funny, because the level of absurdity is high, except that some people have actually fallen for it. (Related side note: I mean, eating cucumbers sure seems a lot less painful than a bikini wax; right? Beauty Salons Against Monsanto coming soon!)
Let me state this quite clearly: There are no genetically modified cucumbers!
Can we do a little fact checking before we blindly believe something, especially if we see it on social media? This clearly demonstrates that some people are so determined to find something wrong with genetically engineered crops that they will believe absolutely anything. Just because it confirms your pre-conceived notions does not make it accurate!
I’ve seen a lot of fake studies that purport to be scientific and turn out to be fraudulent (remember rats and tumors? or pig stomachs?). I can see people get confused when so-called scientists put out a ridiculous study and claim it’s scientific. In reality, they turn out to be just a bunch of garbage propaganda.
The Lapine’s article, however, wasn’t even real. It was satire. Completely false. Yet activists have latched onto it and will viciously defend it as the Gospel truth. They have turned it into a propaganda tool, which obviously just confuses people more because no such thing as GMO cucumbers even exists!
The more important point, however, is that the anti-GMO activists are willing to say whatever to prove their point. That’s a dangerous precedent that we’ve seen play out time and time again.
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
It's Lapine. Your autocorrect must be taking over.
No Autocorrect, just me reading it wrong. 🙂