Comments on: How Do Bloggers Know When a Publicist is a Liar?

By: CommonGround Kansas

CommonGround Kansas — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:35:00 +0000

Thanks for checking out the website and sharing your opinions. We are very lucky to live in a nation where we can form our own ideas and be open about how we feel. The same goes for being able to make decisions about the food we eat. How fortunate that we can choose what we feel is best for our families!

The folks who built the national website did a great deal of research to gather facts from reputable, research-based sources. We revisited the FAQ section you’re referring to and noticed that it doesn’t actually allege that a hybrid and a GMO are the same thing. The statement … “Farmers and gardeners have been creating plant hybrids for as long as they’ve been growing plants. Biotechnology simply serves as a more technologically advanced method.” … is simply a way to help folks understand that science has been working to improve plants in different ways for a very long time.

That being said, it’s still OK to be skeptical. We definitely encourage folks to do their homework and seek out data from sources you can trust.
As volunteers, we don’t maintain the national website, so we’re not totally sure why the domain is registered by proxy. We understand your concern in trusting a domain registered as such. However, you’ll see that our program is funded by checkoff dollars from America’s corn and soybean farmers. That means that farmers just like us contribute a portion of the money we receive for selling our crops. This money funds the program, but we do not receive any compensation for giving our time to talk to folks via social media and in person. There’s not a corporation behind the program. Just real farmers. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that we have organic farmers on our team of volunteers. If you’re interested, we would be happy to connect you with those ladies. It’s totally OK if you don’t feel comfortable bringing questions to CommonGround volunteers, but we definitely encourage folks like yourself to seek out a farmer in your area to whom you can direct questions. That’s what we’re all about — creating dialogue between farmers and folks off the farm. Whether that’s with us or other farmers, it doesn’t matter. We just want to get folks talking about food and farming.

Thanks for taking the time to visit the site. We wish you the best in your blogging efforts. We’re always here if you have questions.

Sincerely,
The volunteers of CommonGround Kansas

By: Becky Elmuccio

Becky Elmuccio — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:43:00 +0000

Fantastic post! Hopefully, we can spark change to make people be honest about their intentions and our food.

By: Carrie Mess

Carrie Mess — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:26:00 +0000

Darn, if you were related to would be married into the family of one of the most amazing cabinet makers!

By: Carrie Mess

Carrie Mess — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:24:00 +0000

A bias is one thing, we all have them, I don’t believe that bias= lies. The proposed discussion from CFI doesn’t mean that these scientists are going to lie to the bloggers. It’s the start of a conversation and it’s one of the most important conversations for all of us to be having. Many groups from both sides are working hard to get the conversations going, that’s what I see this as. These bloggers can ask the questions they want answers to, they can seek knowledge from people who know. I am really grateful for conversations like the CFI/Mommy blogger convo, because it will inspire other conversations such as the one you and I are having. The more conversations we have the better we all understand each other and our food.

I see that my original comment is still flagged for review. Any chance you can unflag it?

By: JessicaGottlieb

JessicaGottlieb — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Married name. No clue. ;)

By: Carrie Mess

Carrie Mess — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:00:00 +0000

As an aside… Do you have family in WI? I know Gottlieb isn’t a super uncommon last name but I am related by marriage to some of the Gottlieb family :)

By: JessicaGottlieb

JessicaGottlieb — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:57:00 +0000

I believe that people show bias when their bank accounts are involved.

By: Carrie Mess

Carrie Mess — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:55:00 +0000

But that scientist isn’t going to be as knowledgeable about GMO’s as the ones who have actually worked on the project. I also don’t believe that a scientist would out and out lie about what they are doing. They can answer the questions you ask with the facts and you can come up with your own conclusions from there.

By: JessicaGottlieb

JessicaGottlieb — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:17:00 +0000

A scientist who ha no stake in things either way might be useful?

By: Carrie Mess

Carrie Mess — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Interesting post. I guess my first though on this is, great! I look at it as a chance for the moms to ask questions directly from the source. I often try to pick the brains of my non farming friends because I know that I have a bias and that others see things differently than I do. I know that the only way to understand the other points of view is to ask!
As a farmer, I am not afraid of CFI or Monsanto for that matter. I will admit that I don’t fully understand GMO’s. My focus on our farm has always been the cows, more than the crops. However, if I had the choice between asking another farmer about GMOs or one of the scientists that has worked on creating GMO’s, I choose the scientist. Who better to get the information from than the source?