Just The Facts Ma'am

Why do so many people have a problem believing facts? The interpretation of facts may be subject to debate, but the facts themselves rarely are. Yet people cannot accept facts that don't agree with their worldview.

The New England Journal Of Medicine published a research study that found mercury had no effect on a child's brain function. This has been a subject of furious debate among parents of autistic children because they believe the autism was caused by mercury in vaccines. The study has considerable scientific proof on its side. What is the basis of the parents' belief? The children were diagnosed after receiving a vaccine shot. Despite that timing, you can't prove cause and effect. The same logic could be used to say that all the children are food, therefore eating food must cause autism. But rather than accept the facts, autism groups are calling this a cover up and conspiracy.

The world has probably heard of Moveon.org's infamous ad slamming General Petraeus. The facts he presented to Congress didn't match what Moveon wanted to hear. So instead of debating the interpretation of the facts, or accepting that they were wrong, their decision was Petraeus must be lying. They simply can't admit that they don't know the facts. Here's a message for Moveon.org: just move on already.

Supporters of organic farming also blindly ignore the facts. There is, to date, no scientific evidence stating that organic foods are healthier. There is, however, substantial proof that organic farming methods cannot sustain a population the size of Earth's. By supporting organic farming, you are supporting people going hungry with no provable benefit.

Facts are facts. You can adapt your argument to take the facts into consideration, or you can face that if the facts don't support your view, it's your view that's incorrect.

The Myth Of Local Food

Now that most "green" people are coming to realize that most of what they thought they knew about organic food is a myth, many of them are shifting gears to promote local food. The theory is that by supporting local farms, you're saving the environment from the fuel and carbon emissions that is used in shipping.

Except is doesn't actually work that way. Studies have shown that the most energy intensive part of the food buying process is your trip to the market, not the food's. The fact is, some food needs to be shipped. When was the last time to were in New England and bought a locally-grown orange or banana. So shipping is inevitable, and it's more efficient to ship a lot of items rather than just a few.

There's one other fact that these people forget. Not everything is better locally. I live in Connecticut. I don't want most of food from here. I want my apples from New York or Washington. I want my onions from Georgia (Vidalia to be exact). Even the local farmer buys his carrots from California.

The fact is not all food is not created equal. It depends on the soil and the climate. Besides, I dare anybody to get a local lobster in Iowa. Some things just shouldn't be local.