Earlier this month, Jon Entine, Kevin Folta, and I traveled to Washington D.C. to talk about genetically engineered crops at the Cato Institute, in a forum titled, Biotechnology: Feeding the World, or a Brave New World of Agriculture? The forum,…
Tag: Genetics
Rogue Wheat Now Found in 127 Countries!
Written by Steve Savage Rogue wheat is growing in wheat fields in 127 countries around the world! Should consumers be concerned? Ok, I'm indulging in a poor imitation of the emotive language common in sensational writings about food issues. What…
Apple Activists vs Scientists
At the 2013 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Conference, I had the unique opportunity to meet and interview Neal Carter, President of Okanagan Specialty Fruits, makers of the Arctic® Apple, and also attend a protest of the same apple organized by…
KQED Quest on GMOs
KQED Quest, based in San Francisco, has just posted a half-hour special on GMOs called Next Meal: Engineering your Food, by Gabriela Quirós. In the wake of proposition 37 in California there has been a lot more public awareness of…
Saving coffee from a serious plant disease
Written by Steve Savage Some of the world's best coffee comes from the tropical highlands of Central and South America. Recently these regions have experienced heavier rainfall. This is probably due to climate change, but in any case it fosters…
Seeds without sex – some racy findings on the cloning of plants
By John Bowman. Republished with permission from The Conversation. Sex without seed. Seed without sex. It’s been said that the greatest gift of science to humankind would be achieving those two goals. Effective contraceptives such as the pill have pretty…
A Defense Of Plant And Crop Related Patents
I cannot share the concerns that are being so widely expressed about the role of patents in agriculture. In fact, I cannot imagine a path forward without them.
How to Breed Fruit Trees
Have you ever wondered what goes into breeding your favorite fruit varieties? Breeding apples, plums, oranges and pears is made understandable with this video that explains the basic biology, origins, and techniques involved in breeding fruit trees. This is the…
A Wiki for GMOs
At the Biofortified Blog, we get a lot of questions about the basics of genetically engineered crops. From time to time there are new and unique questions, but there is a certain set of questions that come up again and…
Shades of Green Talk Wrapup
On Sunday, I gave a talk for the Ethical Humanist Society in Skokie, IL, on the outskirts of Chicago. Back in November, the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago asked me if I would be willing to talk about the benefits…