4 ms·

Why do they even bother answering allegations? If the other group believes whatever they believe in, any answer or evidence will only bolster their claims becau

Why do they even bother answering allegations? If the other group believes whatever they believe in, any answer or evidence will only bolster their claims because they are already way into the pseudoscience camp. I don't like the taste of it but by golly I am going to support these new fangled vegan stuff: they are doing the right thing. Without GMOs a billion people in India will not be alive today. So let's not give these people any more attention than they deserve.

howard941 7y ago
Failing to answer may be construed as a pregnant admission.
- EForEndeavour 7y ago
  Is "pregnant admission" a typo, or a mutation from the phrase "pregnant pause"? If the latter, the metaphor is lost, as "pregnant" does not mean "tacit." https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/7/messages/348.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/7/messages/348.htm...
  - howard941 7y ago
    In that you're familiar with the metaphor I'm puzzled that you find it inappropriate. Where did it stray? One's silence when faced with an allegation where denial of a material allegation is appropriate is often construed as being "pregnant with admission" of the allegation.
dhimes 7y ago
The problem is that if those voices are the only ones talking, eventually people who don't know better are going to start believing them. They need some ammunition against such stupidogenic propaganda.
bpyne 7y ago
Unfortunately, reason isn't at play here. It would take just a fraction of customers for the restaurant chains, supplied by Impossible Foods, to express fear of the burger's contents to cause chains to drop them. Large corporations are notoriously risk-averse. Even if people in the companies believe it's complete nonsense they aren't going to gainsay customers' fears. Impossible Foods isn't in a financial position to have the restaurant chains pull out. So they're trying to "take control of the narrative". It was an absolutely fantastic response. They kept it factual, with a bit of sarcasm, and turned the light on the "mom's group". Kudos to whomever thought up the strategy and wrote the response.
aldoushuxley001 7y ago
"Without GMOs a billion people in India will not be alive today. So let's not give these people any more attention than they deserve." I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest you don't have any evidence to back up this hyperbolic claim. It doesn't help your case by making up data especially when you're denigrating psuedoscience in the same breath.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  It's not just India, and not just (or even largely) GMOs, but: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug > Borlaug was often called "the father of the Green Revolution", and is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation. According to Jan Douglas, executive assistant to the president of the World Food Prize Foundation, the source of this number is Gregg Easterbrook's 1997 article "Forgotten Benefactor of Humanity." The article states that the "form of agriculture that Borlaug preaches may have prevented a billion deaths." He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply. https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/man-who-saved-billion-lives https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/man-who-saved-billio...
- mindfulplay 7y ago
  I should have explained my comment. It's about a strain called IR8 that yields more rice per hectare. This saved so many lives in India and elsewhere. And yes I am thinking of Norman Borlaug.

howard941 7y ago

Failing to answer may be construed as a pregnant admission.

EForEndeavour 7y ago
Is "pregnant admission" a typo, or a mutation from the phrase "pregnant pause"? If the latter, the metaphor is lost, as "pregnant" does not mean "tacit." https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/7/messages/348.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/7/messages/348.htm...
- howard941 7y ago
  In that you're familiar with the metaphor I'm puzzled that you find it inappropriate. Where did it stray? One's silence when faced with an allegation where denial of a material allegation is appropriate is often construed as being "pregnant with admission" of the allegation.

dhimes 7y ago

The problem is that if those voices are the only ones talking, eventually people who don't know better are going to start believing them. They need some ammunition against such stupidogenic propaganda.

bpyne 7y ago

Unfortunately, reason isn't at play here. It would take just a fraction of customers for the restaurant chains, supplied by Impossible Foods, to express fear of the burger's contents to cause chains to drop them. Large corporations are notoriously risk-averse. Even if people in the companies believe it's complete nonsense they aren't going to gainsay customers' fears. Impossible Foods isn't in a financial position to have the restaurant chains pull out. So they're trying to "take control of the narrative". It was an absolutely fantastic response. They kept it factual, with a bit of sarcasm, and turned the light on the "mom's group". Kudos to whomever thought up the strategy and wrote the response.

aldoushuxley001 7y ago

"Without GMOs a billion people in India will not be alive today. So let's not give these people any more attention than they deserve." I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest you don't have any evidence to back up this hyperbolic claim. It doesn't help your case by making up data especially when you're denigrating psuedoscience in the same breath.

ceejayoz 7y ago
It's not just India, and not just (or even largely) GMOs, but: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug > Borlaug was often called "the father of the Green Revolution", and is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation. According to Jan Douglas, executive assistant to the president of the World Food Prize Foundation, the source of this number is Gregg Easterbrook's 1997 article "Forgotten Benefactor of Humanity." The article states that the "form of agriculture that Borlaug preaches may have prevented a billion deaths." He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply. https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/man-who-saved-billion-lives https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/man-who-saved-billio...
mindfulplay 7y ago
I should have explained my comment. It's about a strain called IR8 that yields more rice per hectare. This saved so many lives in India and elsewhere. And yes I am thinking of Norman Borlaug.