BY ARUNA GANESAN & SHAMIRA SHAMSUDDIN
KUALA LUMPUR: Amid the controversy over genetically modified organisms (GMO) and food, science is being kicked about like a ball between pro GMO and anti GMO camps.
‘Food Evolution’ directed by Academy Award-nominated Scott Hamilton Kennedy is a documentary on how misinformation, confusion and fear can overwhelm objective analysis on GMO.
The documentary was screened for the first time in the country at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in conjunction with BioMalaysia 2017 on Sept 13th.
Wrestling with emotions and driving science along the heated argument of 21st century, the film gave the audiences a ride from Hawaiian papaya groves to banana farms in Uganda and finally to the cornfields of Iowa.[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]
The documentary narrated by esteemed science communicator, Neil deGrasse Tyson untangles the debate around food and lets viewers reach their own conclusion.
Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan, executive director of Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (Mabic) who hosted the movie, said it was so well received.
“It is a tough fight with critics of GM crops and food. They effectively use emotions and scare tactics to influence public opinion. The public needs to understand their real motive and the pseudoscience that they propagate.
“This documentary dissects the issues very succinctly.”
“I believe audiences left the hall with a level of trust in genetic engineering they didn’t have before,” she added.
200 people were present at the hall to watch the film, comprised of university students, graduates, and professionals.
Nadia Fauzi, Administration and Diplomatic Officer at the Ministry of Health said the movie was fun and educational.
“The movie opens up my mind about big issues that I did not know much, from science to ethics, culture, psychology, profit-seeking and conflicts of interest. I’m glad I came to watch this movie,” she said.
Dr Nallammai Singaram, Taylor’s University biosciences lecturer said the movie was very informative and relevant for her students and gives a good perspective, both views on GMO.
“I teach a module relevant to this and hence the examples are what i use…it gave me more ideas and confidence to what i been saying. I also learned that it is best to give all the info and let people be the judge of it.”
Calvin Chan, student from Taylor’s University said the film changed his perspective on how the general public are not able to openly receive GMO into their lives.
“After watching the film, I felt humbler as a person having a background in science.
“I got to witness the perspectives of two different sides of the GMO/non-GMO war and see how each side thinks without a bias opinion on either side.” he added
KV Anand Vadivelu, Director at Myevents International said, “We need more information like this to make decisions on GM foods. It was really informative and created more clarity on the topic.”
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