It's no secret by now how prescient Science Left Behind was in noting the anti-science beliefs of the left, at a time when science media insisted being anti-science was solely an inherent trait of being a Republican, were going to become a huge problem for public acceptance of science.
It is commonly recognized now that if you want to find an anti-energy, anti-vaccine hotbed, you only need to draw a circle on a map around a Whole Foods - because they are picking those store locations to be among wealthy liberal elites who regard vaccines and regular food as something for poor people in red states.
Genetic modification now is really precise, but it wasn't always the case. Before that we had mutagenesis (still completely legal in Europe, without being labeled a GMO) and then random radiation experiments in the lab and before that trial and error. And of course nature has always had high-energy cosmic rays mutating plants.
The belief that 'natural' food from days gone by is somehow better is an intellectual placebo when it is held privately, but when anti-science activists attempt to make their beliefs government fiat, it is dangerous for the poor who can't afford artisan cuisine but get convinced their food is dangerous.
Writing at Smithsonian.com, David Newland details the ongoing genetic modification of even the most hipster naturalistic fallacies, like kale. Kale was a staple of the ancient world and so foodies think they have rediscovered it - what they do not know, and may not want to accept, is that it was descended from a wild cabbage that has been genetically modified numerous times. Along with every other food.
P.S. for kale eaters. Skinny jeans are not natural either.
Sorry Hipsters, That Organic Kale Is a Genetically Modified Food By David Newland, Smithsonian.com
