Stronger Plants, Stronger Science, and Stronger Communication
A different view of environmental issues, a 3 part essay in the 5 December 2008 Newsletter of The Scientific Alliance, includes a useful discussion of objectivity. They conclude that we must all be able to recognize and accept facts, whether or not they support our arguments, and regardless of the source. I heartily agree, but…
What follows is the second in my series of responses to Greenpeace’s True Food Guide Questions and Answers. This one focuses on question number 6: “How do GE crops affect the environment?” As you read this, it might seem that I am turning the facts around. Please remember that I’m just trying to fill in…
Read More “True food? Maybe, but its proponents are spreading lies.” »
Margaret Fulton, Australian food commentator, has brought the debate over genetically modified foods to a new low. Instead of focusing on any of the many valid problems of GM, she said: They’re going to control the world. We thought Hitler was a bad fella … these guys could show him a thing or two –…
Hello! I’m Anastasia Bodnar, a second year PhD student at Iowa State University. My major is “Interdepartmental Genetics”, an interdisciplinary program that allows me to work in a variety of fields, including plant breeding, biotechnology, and nutrition. When I’m not in the lab or the field, I write about the science, ethics, politics, economics, etc…
Over the last few weeks of the election season, there was a lot of talk about “spreading the wealth”, with the McCain/Palin campaign more than implying that this was a bad thing. While I agree that many government programs need serious overhauls, there is one use of tax dollars that should not be looked down…
Greetings. My name is Karl Haro von Mogel. A few years ago, while I was studying genetics as an undergrad at UC Davis, I took an introductory plant biology course that opened up my eyes. Professor Robert Thornton, now retired, got me to think about plant biology like no other subject before. Although my first…
A lot of people (including me!) are concerned with the possibility of genetically engineered crops spreading their pollen to nearby fields and to wild relatives. I covered some physical and genetic ways to prevent this in Gene flow, IP, and the terminator, but we all know that 100% exclusion of unwanted pollen is impossible (at…
Michael Heller, law prof at Columbia, has a nice opinion piece in this month’s Forbes concerning biotech patents. His article, Where are the Cures? is about medical biotech, but the ideas apply to agricultural biotech as well. The problem isn’t patents on finished products, but patents on the building blocks needed to make those products…
