Which burger is best? Plant-based or animal-based?

Most people will have heard the hype about Impossible and Beyond plant-based burgers. Some meat eaters say no thanks, preferring beef. Some vegetarians prefer less meaty options. Burgers of any type can be part of a healthy diet, but how do plant-based and animal-based options stack up? In this brief post, we’ll look at a variety of plant-based and animal-based burgers. We’ll compare nutrition, price, and other characteristics.

Delicious burgers can be plant-based or animal-based. Don’t forget all the toppings and sides!

Bring on the burgers

Here are 10 types of plant-based and animal-based burgers. Most are widely available in grocery stores, restaurants, or both.

Nutrition of plant-based and animal-based burgers

Below is a table showing the calories, fat, sodium, carbs, and protein of 10 burger options. Each row is colored from green “best” to red “worst”. All of them have some characteristics that are better and some that are worse. Note that some of the plant-based burgers are fairly small, so I’ve included details for 2 patties to enable more accurate comparison with the bigger burgers.

I’ve included the Recommended Daily Values (RDV) for a 2,000 Calorie diet, as determined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so we can see how each burger fits into a healthy diet. I did not include vitamins and minerals as most people in the United States are not deficient in micronutrients. One burger with a little more or less of a given vitamin is not going to make a difference in most people’s diet.

It’s pretty clear that beef consisting of 75% lean and 25% fat is not a good choice if you are looking to avoid higher calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, or cholesterol. On the other hand, the Original Gardenburger is not a good choice if you want protein or if you are trying to avoid sodium. The rest are somewhere in between. Impossible and Beyond burgers are remarkably similar.

Comparison of plant-based and animal-based burger nutrition — Click the image to see a larger table.

Other differences between plant-based and animal-based burgers

Below is a table showing which burgers are vegan (all plant-based), vegetarian (plant-based plus eggs or dairy), or animal-based. It also shows major allergens, GMO labels, and price at two stores in Northern Virginia. Plant-based burgers are more expensive than animal-based burgers overall.

You’ll note that Impossible is the only one (so far) using the new USDA Bioengineered label. For those of us who think biotechnology (aka GMOs) can be an important part of agriculture, that claim is pretty exciting. Learn more in SciMoms’ Intro to GMOs.

Comparison of plant-based and animal-based burger cost — Allergens are listed here as reported on the product label.
All prices are for Northern Virginia, a relatively expensive part of the United States.
Click the image to see a larger table.

Don’t forget allergens

When deciding what burger is best for a given purpose, don’t forget allergens. Most plant-based burgers contain major allergens, including soy, milk, and wheat. Some also contain other allergens, such as pea, coconut, and potato. Keep in mind that meat-based burgers aren’t automatically safe either. People often mix meat with allergen-containing foods such as breadcrumbs.

Bottom line: if you’re preparing food for others, be sure to ask about food allergies, especially if your guests might expect animal-based burgers and you are serving plant-based alternatives.

Sustainability of plant-based and animal-based burgers

The criteria above are fairly easy to consider, most are right on the label. Sustainability is more challenging, in part because animals can be raised in very different ways. Surprisingly, the beef for the 75/25 frozen patties was from Brazil, which has a different impact compared to US beef due to land use changes.

One way to look at burger sustainability is that all of these are made of legumes and grains. It’s just that the animal-based options add one major step: animals. I’ve simplified the steps in the diagrams below. No matter how sustainably raised animals are, there are still extra steps for animal-based products compared to plant-based products. In short: “Reducing red meat consumption may be a small yet significant way in which individuals can lower their carbon footprint.”

Very simplified process of how we get from plants to plant-based products.

Very simplified process of how we get from plants to animal-based products.

So many choices

As for which burger is best? It depends on what is important to you. If calories or price is king, Boca All American or turkey are good choices. If you’re looking for 100% plant-based, choose one of the vegan options: Morningstar Meat Lover, Impossible, or Beyond. If you are concerned about sodium, turkey or beef is best, but be careful about adding sodium-filled mix-ins or toppings. Beef and Impossible seem to be the tastiest if you are looking for a treat.

Impossibly tasty

For me at this time, calories and protein are most important factors. I am vegetarian, meaning that my diet is mostly made up of plants, dairy, and eggs. Though I will very occasionally eat sustainably raised or harvested seafood including crabs and lobster!

I don’t eat burgers very often, but I do happily use soy crumbles such as Morningstar Grillers Crumbles. These have 18 grams of protein and just 120 calories for about 4oz. Crumbles are great on tacos, nachos, mixed into soup, nearly anything you’d use ground beef for.

I’ll try nearly any plant-based product but Impossible is particularly exciting. I studied heme (the iron containing molecule that makes Impossible taste and look meaty) for my doctoral thesis. Impossible’s scientists even cited my work in some of their supporting documentation, such as their safety evaluation of soy leghemoglobin (a type of heme). I’ve enjoyed Impossible burgers in restaurants and have really wanted to cook with this plant-based option at home.

So, when I saw Impossible burger in my local grocery store, I immediately bought a package! Time for tacos! Right away, it smelled like beef, though it honestly looked like frozen cat food. It cooked up very nicely and didn’t leave a ton of grease in the pan like beef does. The “meat” had a very beefy texture and flavor that even my omnivorous spouse enjoyed. With the high price and relatively high calorie count, Impossible won’t be a daily meal, but it will certainly return to our plates, probably as chili!

Plant-based tacos — Plant-based Impossible tacos.

Unboxing GMO Ethos Chocolate

Frank N Foode poses with some GMO Ethos chocolate

For Valentine’s Day in 2019, A Fresh Look did something unusual. They launched the first GMO chocolate campaign, called Ethos Chocolate, and ran out of their stock in less than a day! There was plenty of excitement as free chocolates started to arrive, but not everyone got to try one. Now you can try them with me! I saved my box of Ethos Chocolate, and made an unboxing video. I tasted each one and talked about the stories that were told in chocolate form. My goal is to answer the question – is this GMO chocolate campaign Bitter, or Sweet?

Unpacking Ethos Chocolate stories

Each chocolate tells a different story about crop biotechnology and bioengineered foods. Papaya tells the story of survival, while a non-browning apple touches on trend-setting. An orange-flavored chocolate represents heroism, and dark chocolate carries the theme of optimism. Ethos chocolate has one more story to tell – did you find a fifth one in your box?

GMO Ethos chocolate on a tray with a glass of milk

I also talk about who is behind the Ethos chocolates, A Fresh Look, and critically analyze one response from a prominent critic of biotechnology. Is something missing from this chocolate campaign that needed to be right up front, or is it just a misunderstanding?

Finally, Ethos chocolates communicated something fresh about climate change that came from an unexpected source. Did you notice it? Because I certainly did – and I’m excited to tell you about it. Watch the video, and tell me what you think about Ethos chocolates!

Another chance to Feed your Ethos

If you didn’t get to try Ethos chocolates, now you have a chance to. They have re-launched their chocolate campaign, but this time you have to make a donation to their organization to get one. Getting free chocolates was pretty sweet, but if you’ve grown accustomed to chocolatey gifts you might find the donation level a little bitter-tasting. Why do they have to tug at our heart-strings like this?!

If you got a box of Ethos chocolates, what did you think of them? Were they just what you asked for, or could they be improved? Telling stories about biotechnology with food is a great way to reach the public about the impact of this technology, and teach about the underlying science. What stories do you think they should tell if they made new chocolates with different flavors?

Sustainability, animal welfare, and Easter eggs

As many people are getting ready to color their Easter eggs, now is an excellent time to discuss eggs – specifically their sustainability and animal welfare concerns. Eggs are a low-cost source of protein and other nutrients. They are an important and well-loved part of many people’s diets. Eggs are also more sustainable than most other animal-sourced foods. But some practices in egg production are concerning when it comes to animal welfare. A philanthropic group now aims to remedy one area of concern. (Content warning: This article discusses culling of male chicks.)

Calling for improvements in chick welfare

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) has a new initiative called the the Egg-Tech Prize. This project aims to find solutions to one major welfare issue – unneeded male chicks. FFAR is offering up to $400,000 per project, with up to 5 projects selected. You have a little time to consider ideas – applications are due on May 15, 2019.

Why does this matter? Obviously, male chicks are not useful for laying eggs. But male chicks from an egg-laying breed can’t be raised for meat due to low meat quality and slower growth than chickens that are specifically bred for meat.

The current industry standard involves euthanizing male chicks by grinding, suffocating, or other means. Such work can take a psychological toll on those who carry out the euthanasia. Even if you raise backyard chickens, your chicks likely come from a facility that euthanizes male chicks. Trade group United Egg Producers pledged to stop these practices, and instead determine the sex of eggs before they hatch. The problem is, there still isn’t a good method to do that.

Even if you aren’t concerned about the welfare of chicks, the distress or pain they may experience as they are euthanized, or the ethical issue of creating a life just to immediately kill it, there’s an argument to be made for making a sustainable product even more sustainable. Culled male chicks end up as chicken by-product meal in pet food, or as fertilizer. They don’t go entirely to waste, but they could be put to better use. For example, male eggs could be diverted to vaccine production.

Note that culling of male chicks isn’t the only welfare concern associated with egg production. Other concerns include keeping layers in cages, but cage-free eggs can lead to other problems, and have a higher cost.

Incredible eggs

As shown in the below Protein Scorecard by the World Resources Institute, eggs are inexpensive (2.5 to 4 cents per gram of protein) and have relatively low impact on the environment. Globally, eggs take less water to produce than roots and tubers, dairy, poultry, farmed fish, pork, or beef. Egg substitutes are getting better all the time, but these highly-processed foods have their own disadvantages.

As FFAR points out, “for the 6 billion laying hens hatched each year worldwide, a similar number of male chicks are produced that never make it to market.” Finding ways to use (or even prevent) unneeded male chicks could have quite an impact, making eggs even less resource intensive.

sustainability of animal and plant foods — Resource use for foods on a per-protein basis from the World Resources Institute.

Many cultures enjoy eggs

In addition to being high-protein and sustainable, eggs are also delicious and versatile in cooking. These factors make eggs an incredibly important source of protein, globally. Many, many countries around the world feature eggs in traditional dishes. Groups like Heifer International advocate eggs as an important way to provide nutrition to children and help pull families out of poverty.

As we approach Easter, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite, Polish Easter Soup, also known as bread soup or white barszcz. Its tangy sour taste can be provided by vinegar or by fermented flour. Easter soup is a delicious way to enjoy Easter eggs! For many years, I have made a solid vegetarian Easter soup, though no one sells a decent vegetarian kielbasa!

Aside from holidays, my family relies on eggs as a protein source that we all enjoy. I’d feel a little better about our frequent egg dinners if culling male chicks was no longer necessary.

Alternatives to culling male chicks

How can this problem of unneeded male chicks be solved? Some have proposed Dual-purpose chickens as alternative to culling. It’s an attractive idea, but such dual-purpose chickens are not as efficient as single-purpose chickens. They are slower to grow, and lay fewer eggs, decreasing the sustainability of both egg and chicken meat production.

Various alternative culling methods have been proposed, but none are ideal. For example, 100% carbon dioxide produces a relatively quick death, but chicks are still in distress. It’s not much of an improvement, and the destined-to-die male eggs still take up space in incubators.

Screening the eggs before hatching would be better, though can be expensive, up to 5 cents per egg. Light can be used to determine whether an egg is fertilized. Light may also be a way to determine if an embryo is male or female. Researchers have found that male chick embryos are more opaque than female chick embryos.

Testing DNA or other biomarkers in eggs is the solution United Egg Producers was hoping for, allowing male eggs to be diverted to other purposes or euthanized before they hatch. One such method is being rolled out in Germany.

Could genetics or biotech help?

As a geneticist, my first thought after reading about the Egg-Tech Prizewas – surely there’s a way to solve this with genetics-related methods. Biotech doesn’t solve every problem, but it’s a really useful tool!

A quick aside – chicken sex is determined by chromosomes, just as in mammals. However, while mammals are XX female and XY male, chickens and other birds are ZW female and WW male. Of course, this is a major simplification of sex, particularly when we are talking about humans. View an infographic with just some of the complexity at Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination.

Fluorescent eggs

Researchers at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) are developing eggs that emit red fluorescence when viewed under a special light (I used similar technology in a corn breeding program). Read about this idea in How CRISPR could save 6 billion chickens from the meat grinder.

The researchers put the gene for red fluorescence on the W chromosome provided by the mother chicken. Males would get that genetically engineered W plus a regular W from their father. Female chickens would get a Z from their mother and a regular W from their father. The resulting female eggs would not have the fluorescence gene.

While this solution is interesting, I am not as optimistic as the researchers that such chickens would escape regulation. Any egg production companies wanting to use this technology (or any technology that involves DNA or biomarkers) would have to install new screening systems, a significant barrier to adoption. And, you still have a ton of male eggs that need to be used quickly before they develop into chicks or spoil.

Who needs males, anyway?

Parthenogenesis is the development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg. While rare in birds, there are examples of virgin chickens and turkeys laying eggs that develop into chicks. Perhaps an egg laying chicken breed could be developed that would lay parthenogeneic female eggs when given some sort of inducer, but otherwise would lay unfertilized eggs. There would both be no unwanted male eggs and no need for males at all!

Of course, this is much easier said than done. Plants are more cooperative when it comes to apomixis (parthenogenesis in plants). However, there are examples of parthenogenic vertebrates. For example, the whiptail lizard is a polyploid obligate parthenogen that has all female offspring.

One point in favor of this idea is that “genomic imprinting is believed to be absent in birds“. In other words, the epigenetic programming that happens in mammal embryos isn’t an issue for chickens. Another point in favor of this idea is that inducible parthenogenesis has been in development for stem cell research, so compounds are being identified that could induce parthenogenesis, such as valproic acid. Ideally, an inducer could be applied in feed or along with vaccines to reduce need for additional handling of the birds.

I don’t plan to apply for the Egg-Tech Prize, so feel please free to research and pursue this idea 😉 I’d just be happy to find eggs that don’t require culling male chicks. I’ll hard boil the eggs, dye them with onion skins for Easter, and then make vegetarian Polish Easter soup!

GMO Pie for Pi Day

Today is March 14, 2019 – Pi Day! Many scientists (and others) around the world are celebrating with pie.

This got me thinking – what would a spread of pies featuring GMOs look like? The most common GMOs are sugar beets, cotton, corn, papaya, soy, canola, potato, and apple – as shown in the SciMoms Guide to GMOs Infographic.

guide to gmos — View the full SciMoms Guide to GMOs Infographic.

Most pies contain beet sugar, and many have vegetable oil that may be sourced from corn, canola, or cotton. But what pies might feature GMOs as the main ingredient? Here are some recipes to try!

Sweet corn custard pie or savory Trinidad corn pie (casserole)
Papaya pie
Soybean (tofu) pie with raspberries and chocolate
Sweet Irish potato pie or savory Mashed potato pie
and of course, Apple pie!

It’s not available in the US yet, but what about some Salmon pie made with GMO salmon? My favorite pie is pecan pie. I haven’t had it before, but there are many recipes for Chestnut pie – how amazing would it be to have American chestnuts for a pie?

What are your favorite pies? How did you celebrate Pi Day?

Cooking video series to launch!

Here at Biology Fortified, we’ve got a lot of projects going on. From databases of research, to infographics, blog posts, citizen science and more, we do what we do because we love science and we want more people to understand and appreciate it as well. We have only been able to accomplish what we have thanks to support from our readers and fans, as well as a couple small competitive grants. In the past year, we introduced a monthly membership program that enables us to have the resources to sustain this work and start bigger projects. Continue reading “Cooking video series to launch!” →

GMO labeling takes effect in Vermont

Editors note: Shannon took to Twitter (@DinoReaderMom) to share her photos demonstrating the impacts of mandatory GMO labeling in Vermont. She shared her pictures with the #WeLabeledGMOs hashtag, where GMO labeling advocates were celebrating. Shannon was kind enough to elaborate in this exclusive guest post. See Consumer Protection Rule 121 to read for yourself what this law does and does not require. For an overview of the impacts, see Six consequences for consumers of labeling GMOs by Mary Mangan (@mem_somerville).
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Over the last week or so, local news sites in Vermont have been discussing ways Vermont’s new GMO law could affect local businesses and what it might mean for shoppers. I hadn’t done much research into the law: I wrote the senators to tell them I didn’t support it, but admittedly hadn’t read the law myself. So when I went to the store for the first time since the law took effect, I did some poking around in the all the aisles to see what was happening on the shelves. In short, things looked a bit bleak.
I am a lifelong Vermonter, and have lived in both a tiny town and “the big city” (Burlington, hardly a city). I know the challenges that Vermonters already deal with to feed their families. Growing up, we drove 45 minutes each week, one way, to get to a decent grocery store that had slightly better selection. While the state is small (both population and acreage), it can take a lot of time to travel from point A to point B. It is also worth noting that many smaller towns/villages don’t have their own grocery store, or what they do have is a very small, mom and pop owned business. Locals know not to expect things in stock that seem like they should be. We don’t even have a Target.

The stores

We have 3 “chain” stores in the area: Price Chopper, Hannaford, and Shaws. I also visited Dick Mazza’s General Store to get a feel for what smaller businesses were dealing with. I checked these stores on July 2nd and 3rd. While some things are pretty clear, others are clear as mud.
Price Chopper had signs under products stating that the manufacturer doesn’t plan to relabel to comply with Vermont law. This included products from Del Monte and Heinz as well as multiple types of baby formula. When asked about the signs, an employee said there were quite a few brands that weren’t planning on complying and that the store had 6 months to sell their stock of non-compliant foods.

Compliant cookies from the Hannaford bakery, “produced with genetic engineering.”

Hannaford is a much larger store than Price Chopper, and had a very different approach. I spoke with the manager and was told that Hannaford, at a corporate level, had “accepted” the law and had been slowly transitioning things for months now. They slowly dropped the products that won’t be relabeled and labeled their own store brand items. At this location there weren’t any signs, in part because the store was “ahead” of the game and in part because they are a large store with the space for excess products. This store, for example, wouldn’t run out of formula right away but the manager did say that if the companies don’t label that they won’t be able to carry those items anymore.
At Mazza’s General Store I spoke with the owner (who also happens to be one of our state senators). Things there were more difficult for him because, while he could pre-buy items that weren’t likely to comply, he was limited in space. He also said there were new items coming up every day that did/didn’t comply, and that the law had gotten much more complicated than expected.
The reality is that shoppers in more populated areas won’t see much change at the bigger stores right away. The big changes will come once the stock of non-compliant products have been sold. I was told at one store that they had 6 months to sell the non-labeled stock and at another that they had 3 months. The law states that retailers have 6 months to get non-compliant items sold, so I am guessing corporate wanted things sold with some wiggle room in the store that told me 3 months.
Overall, there are thousands of items that are no longer being shipped to Vermont. This includes many items that people might easily do without, but it also includes many types of infant formula as well as many canned fruits and vegetables. A list of non-compliant foods (Excel spreadsheet) was created by our local news station, WCAX, for Alex Apple’s article Vt. supermarkets lose 3,000 products over GMO law.

The impacts

In small towns and small grocery stores in Vermont, it will be difficult for shoppers to find certain items once they start to sell out. Distance can be very prohibitive, both in gas and time, especially when they are just hoping that the missing item, say baby formula or canned fruit, is in stock.
Some companies have said they do plan on relabeling. However, even if they do plan to relabel soon, Vermont can’t accept any items with non-compliant labels after July 1. So until the company gets that compliant stock into rotation, Vermont will be left in the lurch until they catch up. This seems to be the case with a particular brand of gluten free bread that a few of my celiac friends depend on to avoid making their own bread at home, a time consuming process.
Some companies have taken a hard line “not gonna happen” stance, which I don’t blame them for. It’s ridiculous to label for something that a large portion of the population doesn’t understand and will interpret as “scary” even though GMOs have been proven time and again to be safe. I have heard of several companies that don’t plan to relabel at all, even though this seems to vary widely depending upon who you ask. I had heard Coca-Cola didn’t plan to relabel at all, then I heard it only affects their vanilla or cherry flavors. Even if these companies change their minds and decide to relabel, Vermont could be left without items on the shelves for a significant amount of time.
As far as I know, it is still possible to get items shipped in via sites like Amazon without anyone getting in trouble for crossing state lines with non-labeled GMOs, however that isn’t an option for all of Vermonters. Some sites charge hefty shipping fees and some items you can’t even readily find online. Honestly, those that are likely to be hit hardest by this are those on WIC or with low incomes that can’t afford things like $80+ per year for Amazon Prime or extra gas money to travel to New York or Massachusetts or New Hampshire to buy the items they rely on to feed their families.
Overall, I have seen the beginning of what I fear will be a huge headache for Vermonters and for a lot of smaller stores as well. Things aren’t awful in MOST places right now but I don’t figure it will be too long before supplies of baby formula, affordable canned fruit and vegetables, and many other items will be sold out and unavailable. This law was a bad idea from the ground up and now Vermonters are going to have to pay the price.

Shannon is a mom of three and a life-long Vermonter – from the start of the organic movement all the way through the recently added “soda tax” and now the GMO labeling law. She considers herself science-minded but always learning, as people should be! She has Bachelors Degree from Johnson State College and hopes to pursue a Masters once her children are a bit older. In her spare time (funny! what parents have spare time?) she enjoys reading, fitness, and shouting at bad data in documentaries.
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Click on the images to embiggen and view the captions. All images taken by Shannon and shared here with permission.

A partial list of items that will no longer be available for sale in Vermont, collected by WCAX.

Removal of non-compliant baby formula at Price Chopper.

Removal of non-compliant canned fruit at Price Chopper.

Factsheet from Hannaford about GMO labeling.

Compliant cookies from the Hannaford bakery, “produced with genetic engineering.”

The Future of Food

Surreal food by Stefan Schweihofer via PixaBay.

I had the amazing opportunity this past weekend to moderate a panel on the Future of Food at the Escape Velocity conference hosted by the Museum of Science Fiction in Washington, DC. It was a pleasure to have a diverse panel (panelist bios are below) where we all had different perspectives to bring to the discussion.
I think my favorite part was the audience participation, with many excellent questions and comments. We ran 1 hour and 15 minutes but it could have been a whole day event, so I wanted to bring the discussion here.
Continue reading →

How to avoid GMOs

Papaya tree by Karl Haro von Mogel. — Healthy papaya tree by Karl Haro von Mogel.

I received this question from a student: If someone wants to stop eating GMO food, what should they do?
While I may not agree with most reasons for doing so, I understand that some people want to avoid GMOs. So, here is the straight answer of what you need to do to avoid GMOs at the grocery store, along with some information about the GMO options.
First, I did want to point out that all genetically engineered (GE) foods in the United States has been through a risk assessment “consultation” process with the Food and Drug Administration. Now, on to our guide on how to avoid GMOs…
Continue reading →

Bird flu and egg substitutes

It’s strange that so few people are talking about this flu outbreak in chickens in the US. I don’t think it’s something we can ignore. The outbreak is sad for many reasons, including the birds’ suffering, the needed yet wasteful culling of flocks, and the human toll of the workers dealing with so much death plus the farmers seeing their cared for animals and their business killed.

Frank and I visit Pete and Gerry’s egg farm in Vermont in October 2013.

We should expect a rise in egg prices, starting with liquid eggs and processed foods that use liquid eggs (including baked goods and ice cream, as the NY Times article states). I doubt in-shell egg prices are far behind. That’s bad news for people struggling to put food on the table. While there are many negatives here, I think the silver lining comes in two opportunities.

First, this is an opportunity to talk about the frailty of our food system. It doesn’t matter what type of farm you have, if an infected migratory bird shows up, your birds get sick. This issue spans all types of agriculture. What are farmers doing to protect their birds? How can the USDA and everyday consumers help?

Second, this is an opportunity to talk about egg alternatives. This issue spans many types of food; as any vegan could tell you, eggs are everywhere. There’s many foods that can replace eggs in home cooking and baking. Most processed food companies haven’t embraced alternatives in part because of cost. It’s just easier to get liquid eggs.

Now that liquid eggs are going to be more expensive for a while, it’s time for food scientists to figure out what can replace eggs in ice cream, bread, cookies, and other processed foods. Companies like Hampton Creek are developing egg substitute but that adds another layer of cost. Food companies may find that commercially produced egg alternatives work best, or they may be able to use a cheaper solution such as straight flax meal.

As a proponent of diverse food systems, I am excited about the potential for more use of egg substitutes. Since those substitutes are often made from less common crops like flax and cassava, there’s an opportunity for farmers to grow more complex crop rotations to meet this demand.

Celebrate cookies and science

Girl Scout Cookies - Thin Mints & Samoas - by Brianpdx via flickr

Scouting was a very important part of my childhood. I learned independence, teamwork, and so many other important life traits. Not to mention the camping, singing, crafts… and cookies! Selling cookies was one of the highlights of each year. Thanks in large part to my grandmother who worked in a hospital and my aunt who worked in a law firm, one year I was one of the top 25 cookie sellers in the whole United States!
My dad is archiving our family photos and he was able to find these for me…

I was a Girl Scout from Daisy all the way to Cadette, and my mom was a troop leader for many of those years. Now that I have a baby daughter, I look forward to her joining Girl Scouts and to being a troop leader myself. I’m especially excited about the science and engineering badges that they have added since I was a scout. They even have an inventor track, in partnership with the US Patent and Trademark Office: the Intellectual Property Patch (check out the materials; they even talk about plant patents).
You may be thinking – what blog is this? Where’s the science? Where’s the biotech? There’s a connection, I swear! Continue reading →