We guess it would be too much to hope for: finding two sound-science-based stories in the New York Times on the same day. While one did alert readers to a widely circulated weight-loss scam, the writer of a Health column, of all things, went out of her way to disseminate specious concerns about GMO ingredients in food as a platform for endorsingGMO-labeling (although the column did refer to the official FDA position, which in summary says, nothing to worry about.).
The first, an op-ed by Frank Bruni, points out that there is no real evidence supporting the idea that the widely touted supplement, Garcinia Cambogia, helps people lose weight. Along with that point, Mr. Bruni also excoriates our favorite huckster Dr. Mehmet Oz who has repeatedly promoted this supplement (among others) as a weight-loss miracle.
In the second story, Roni Caryn Rabin, a Times health columnist, explains why the FDA does not, and likely won t, require labeling GMO products and ingredients. The agency reviews tests run by producers to assure that any GMO ingredients are substantially the same as their non-GMO counterparts. Ms Rabin quotes an agency spokesperson who says that Food from genetically engineered plants must meet the same requirements, including safety requirements, as foods from traditionally bred plants. She did not let these facts distract her, however, from her diatribe backing the useless, distracting and expensive mandate to label foods with GMO ingredients.
ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava had this to say: It s refreshing to see the Times Frank Bruni calling out the media mogul, former respected surgeon, Dr. Oz, for the huckster he has become. Unfortunately, one cannot expect to read the Times and escape from PC alarmism completely, such as the Health column flouting the overwhelming scientific evidence of biotech foods safety as reviewed in our recent publications on the topic.