America’s Temple of Pseudoscience

[LTX]

Whole Foods: America’s Temple of Pseudoscience:

"If you want to write about spiritually-motivated pseudoscience in America, you head to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. . . .

"If scientific accuracy in the public sphere is your jam, is there really that much of a difference between Creation Museum founder Ken Ham, who seems to have made a career marketing pseudoscience about the origins of the world, and John Mackey, a founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, who seems to have made a career, in part, out of marketing pseudoscience about health?

Well, no—there isn’t really much difference, if the promulgation of pseudoscience in the public sphere is, strictly speaking, the only issue at play. By the total lack of outrage over Whole Foods’ existence, and by the total saturation of outrage over the Creation Museum, it’s clear that strict scientific accuracy in the public sphere isn’t quite as important to many of us as we might believe. Just ask all those scientists in the aisles of my local Whole Foods. . . ."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/23/whole-foods-america-s-temple-of-pseudoscience.html

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Not a new article, but I hadn't read it before. It's an interesting take on both scientific literacy and acceptable targeting. It is also suggestive of the persistent splintering of seemingly inherent religious thought processes into new "churches" (here, the church of Whole Foods).

[skepticscott]

1. I've always thought the disconnect was quite remarkable

You have a lot of the people on the organic/non-GMO bandwagon because of safety concerns also popping on a regular basis "supplements" and "herbal" remedies which haven't been tested at all for safety (never mind effectiveness) and that don't even have to conform to their labels. More people have suffered injury from taking St. John's Wort than from all the GMO corn oil in the world.

[cbayer]

2. What a great article.

Really makes one think, doesn't it.

I rarely go to a Whole Foods, and when I do I go directly to the produce, meat and cheese counters and totally avoid all the pseudoscienfically based nonsense they sell. Even the magazines at the check out stand make me a little queasy.

So, yes, he asks a good question. How different is this from creationism? Why is one OK within the progressive/liberal community and the other not? Is one more dangerous than the other, or do they both present dangers?

Article recommended.

[longship]

3. It is a good read.

And there does seem to be religious, or possibly cultic elements to some pseudoscience. That's why some are being fairly characterized as science denial strategies. E.G., creationism/intelligent design is clearly biology denial.

Whole Foods has been on the skeptic's radar for some time.

[cbayer]

4. So much of what they sell is snake oil.

And there are lots of people making lots of money off it.