Every wonder what to believe as you scroll through social media? What about that catchy fact the infomercial just spouted out? Or that uncle who claims he knows everything because one time he took a chemistry course… but does he really??

Well the Governor’s School for Agriculture probably can’t assist you with that meddling uncle, but we are here to promote educational science outlets. Today’s highlight: Don’t Eat the Pseudoscience!

This Facebook phenomenon began as a joint effort to promote safe, factual information about food related topics – ranging from GMOs and organic foods to that trendy unicorn frappuccino from Starbucks (hint: it wasn’t even the most sugary thing on their menu). Don’t Eat the Pseudoscience strives to make food easier to understand for everybody in a fun, personable, and relatable manner.

Don’t Eat the Pseudoscience isn’t just about catchy phrases and cool videos (though I promise there’s no shortage of either), as stated on their Facebook page, they value:

• Ensuring a safe, wholesome and stable food supply through science, and technology.
• Acknowledging that food additives are not scary chemicals, but tools with helpful purposes, preservation, added nutrition, or enhanced functionality. 
• Thinking critically about what we read on social media about the food industry. 
• Involving our viewers, inviting them to share their thoughts and perceptions.
• Nourishing our bodies with a variety of foods in moderation, recognizing that foods high in calories and low in nutritional content should play a small role in one’s diet.
• Getting information from science, specifically peer-reviewed journals, and other reputable studies.

These scientists strive to make food, science, and technology fun again! And hopefully a little more accurate and informative than your uncle’s thoughts on coconut oil…

So go check them out!

GSA Staff

P.S.: Special thanks to the GSA panel on Food Safety and Agriculture Applications featuring Brandon Herndon, Casey Phillips, Dr. Suzy Hammons, and Dr. Tatiana Lorca. The students could have asked questions for another two hours regarding dairy, meat, and other agricultural products had we let them!

(This is just some of the students rushing the stage after we officially ended. Makes my little science loving heart sing!)