Thanks for the episode. As someone who spent 45+ years in agricultural research (researcher and statistician), it is a topic I’ve followed and been caught up in for a while. It is an interesting topic, although I was a bit disappointed in the one sided anti industry approach I got from the episode. Certainly, industry is not clean here, but the so called “real” food side is also quite tainted and equally, or even more, damaging and unaccountable. I’ve always been frustrated that people automatically villainize industry, yet unskeptically champion the real, clean, side. Dr Biltekoff asks what industry’s end game is, yet completely ignores (in your interview) what the Real food end game is. Hint, it’s money. The natural, real food movement is its own industry that grifts millions from the public. This deserves coverage.
Some other points:
1) No definition of natural was made because it’s simply impossible. Natural is not=safe or healthy. In terms of food, safety, health, and nutrition, it is meaningless.
2) Perhaps I heard wrong, but proof of absolute safety is actually what is impossible, while proof of harm is obtainable. That’s why the US, and many other countries, do not use the Precautionary Principle. It looks good on paper, but is not applicable in reality. A close look at EU food regs and their outcomes shows they either end up in a bind limiting advancements and causing political turmoil, or they simply find exceptions that allow usage. The PP does not work as a regulatory principle because it is not possible to prove something safe.
3) Those pesky unpronounceable names? They’re there because the public demanded they be there. It was the Real food movement and their kin who taught the public to distrust the very thing they demanded industry provide.
4) Writing off evidence and fact is foolhardy. Yes, they alone cannot correct things, but people cannot make accurate judgements without them either. The public doesn’t need to be educated with fact, but rather taught how to discern reliable information from misinformation.

Again, thank you for the episode and the opportunity to comment, although probably too long.