Illumination 2.0

Why is labeling GMOs a bad idea?  Here's why!  It actually makes us less informed. Labels can be used deceptively to imply danger where none exists, forcing competitors to play defense against false notions.  The creator of this sign at a local Ace Hardware (thanks Dr. Dave Clark!) states clearly that their herb and veggie starts are "NON-GMO".  This implies that there are herb and veggie starts that are GMO, when there are not. I like, "remineralized with 70 trace minerals"... I'm guessing that 65 of these trace minerals are more toxic than any pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, or certainly a transgene! And "open pollinated" ensures that you have no guarantee of the genetic integrity of the "heirloom" you are purchasing- so it is not necessarily an heirloom. Chances are that these plants are the typical garden tomato, pepper, cucumber starts sold everywhere. They are not GMO, they never have been GMO. It is really sl

Last month I commented on an article on Mother Jones.  It was a good point, so good that the comment thread erupted in the usual mudslide of lies, hoping to discredit reasonable criticisms and the person that levied them. One commentor was especially vicious. She continually made claims about me, my funding and other personal statements.  For instance, she claimed that my science is funded by Monsanto, Jon Entine and the Genetic Literacy Project and that it says so right on my website.  It isn't true, and my website doesn't mention Entine or GLP. The woman graduate student posting false and harmful information about me refuses to correct it after gentle requests.  What is the correct next step?  The most hurtful words were that I harass her children.  As a guy that volunteers in schools and teaches karate to kids at night (for no pay), this is a serious problem. Thanks to the help of others and some of my own sleuthing we were able to dissect her anonymity and figu

Back on November 12, 2013 I patiently sat through a talk by Dr. Don Huber.  Huber is a former professor at Purdue with a really good record.  He was recognized by many as an expert in plant mineral nutrition and disease. Now he travels from audience to audience extolling the perils of glyphosate and GMO crops.  He states, in no unclear way, that even just the process of adding the gene makes the plants dangerous.  (I actually recorded his whole talk, will post it someday).  You can find it anywhere on YouTube. During his presentation he talked about this new virus-fungus, an unknown life form that invades GMO crops.  The organism causes abortions in cattle and infects humans, causing a suite of diseases from autism to cancer.  When he talks about it he shows graphic images of dead calves.  Audiences are visibly shaken and viscerally moved by his presentation. The list of diseases caused by GMOs and glyphosate from Don Huber.  The same list caused by chemtrails, vaccines an

When I was asked to do a point-counterpoint for the Orlando Sentinel I was hesitant. Why give  an activist's  non-scientific opinions the illusion of equal weight to my facts and science?  In anticipation of the other writer preparing a poorly-researched anti-GM rant,  I wrote my counterpoint  to address the vacant arguments, and Dalyn Houser's anti-GM piece fell right into it .  Houser is a representative of Florida PIRG ( Public Interest Research Group - ironically not doing much research, especially in science for the public interest).  Every single point is an argument from ignorance or a typical trot down non-scientific thinking.  Sadly, there is outright false information that further fuels misunderstanding of this topic. I don't know if she's outright lying or just misinformed, but neither adds good science to the public understanding. To further illuminate that point, I've copied it here and go through each point, providing the scientific perspecti

Seriously.  I've been following the announcement that Jeffrey Smith is appearing as the science expert at Veg Expo 2014 in Vancouver, BC.   I'm disappointed, but also blown away because I usually find the hardcore veg/vegans to be a more sophisticated bunch and generally in tune with science. Today I found out who else was part of this scientific extravaganza! Jeepers Canada!  You're better than this and certainly yous vegans and vegetarians deserve better, eh?  This panel is taking on a subject it does not know much aboot.  You're about to get hosed! Actually, veg/vegans-- you are being set up for manipulation.  Some local anti-GMO group (like Left Coast) is not sponsoring this to support your diet choices, they are using this to appeal to your dietary choices to infect you with anti-scientific nonsense. How do GMOs affect Canadians? Let's ask this esteemed group that know nothing about modern biotechnology.   What a line up!  1. Jeffrey Smit

Accidentally a Vegetarian In March of 1994 I stood on the scale and it read 235 lbs.  I looked in the mirror after a shower and the Michellin Man was starring back at me. I was a grad student, worked 16 hour days, didn't eat right, no exercise, and lots of beer. Genetics were not on my side either, as everyone else in my family had weight problems and the issues that went with them. It was time for a change. I lumbered across the parking lot of my apartment complex in a slow jog that was physically taxing. I probably squeezed out 400 yards total, but I'll never forget that feeling.  Things had to change, and that first foray across the blacktop was a turning point. The fact is that GMO technology could make plant products that fill gaps in the vegetarian/vegan diet, making it more attractive to those interested in the healthful benefits of a plant-based diet that are uncomfortable potential deficiencies.  One of the other shifts was to an entirely plant-based die

It was Sunday night and I nestled into position.  The television flickered in a darkened room and the swelling music of the Cosmos remake primed me for another trip with Neil deGrasse Tyson flying in his hybrid toe nail clipper / kazoo. The story was about Dr. Clair Patterson, the University of Chicago (later California Institute of Tech) scientist that sought to identify the age of the earth by measuring lead levels in a meteorite fragment.  Lead is the end product of radioactive uranium decay, so if you can detect and quantify lead in a sample from the beginning of the universe, you can estimate the age of the universe.  The problem was that his readings were crazy because there was lead everywhere . Why? Turns out, all of the experimental noise he was detecting came from residues of leaded gasoline. Exhaust and lead dust was prevalent everywhere before the preparation was banned in the 1970's.  The story tells of Robert Kehoe, a scientist from the auto industry