I Do So Like Monsanto And GMOs!

Don’t lynch me yet, there’s a point to the title I picked. It has to do with an image I saw on my Facebook feed that uses a drawing from a Dr Seuss story:

Green ham and eggs anti-GMO image

I don’t know who originally made this image, but I noticed it via a share from the Facebook page for the organization SumOfUs. Their campaigns and messaging make it very clear that they do not like Monsanto and are anti-GMO.

Monsanto is often portrayed as some evil monster by these groups, but it isn’t. There’s no discussion about the safety of GMOs as they are safe, no matter what this group claims. Studies claiming to show otherwise are either misrepresented or just plain wrong. The support of these groups for labeling GMOs is just a subtle way of banning perfectly safe products.

However, I do get why they picked the image from the story ‘Green Eggs and Ham’:

Do you like
green eggs and ham?

I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.

The character Sam-I-Am is quite adamant and persistent in his claims that he doesn’t like green ham and eggs; despite him never having tried them. But when his friend finally convinces him to try green ham and eggs this is what happens:

If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.

Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!

[…]

I do so like
green eggs and ham!

I hope you now understand why I picked the title ‘I Do So Like Monsanto And GMOs!’ as that is the message the image conveys. At least to anyone who actually knows what happens in the original story. They will see this mismatch in what the story is about and the intended message of this image.

So can we please stop using a story that’s about overcoming personal biases for the exact opposite?

Updated 2014-04-24 @ 6:32:
Small change to remove a point that was unfair towards Monsanto as it didn’t take into account current practices and legal rulings. My thanks to Soul_Shot on Reddit for pointing this out.

Collin Maessen is the founder and editor of Real Skeptic and a proponent of scientific skepticism. For his content he uses the most up to date and best research as possible. Where necessary consulting or collaborating with scientists.