Between starring in a critically-acclaimed network television program, running a world-class science center and debunking Hollywood blockbusters, Neil deGrasse Tyson still finds time to unload on critics of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. In a two-minute video unearthed by Mother Jones, Tyson rails against what he calls the "fear factor" of an emerging science, which leads to rejection of a process we don't fully understand. He's got two words for GMO critics: "Chill out."
As Tyson points out in the video, humans have "systematically genetically modified the foods, the vegetables, the animals we have eaten ever since we cultivated them; it's called artificial selection, that's how we genetically modify them." We'll let the man himself take it from here:
As GrubStreet notes, Tyson doesn't explore the other side of GMOs, like shady corporations and other issues, but sometimes, you just need the sexiest astrophysicist of all time to play devil's advocate. Cheers to you, sir.
