Posts

Arctic Apple Deregulated - Predictions?

Image
The "rubber stamp" of regulatory approval , that takes millions of dollars and more than a decade to get, has  been  finally bestowed upon the Arctic Apple, and the company that invented it, Okanagan Specialty Fruits. This apple varieties have their browning mechanisms deactivated using RNAi, a process that essentially eliminates the enzyme required for the browning process.  After years of testing and regulatory hoops, we can now enjoy them.  'Bout time! I've been hearing about the damn thing since the 90's. The Arctic Apple joins the ranks of one of the most tested foods of all time.  These apples don't brown when you cut them, making them an improvement for many applications.  I know I'll buy them because I like apple slices, and can have fresh ones, right from the apple rather than expensive pre-cut ones in bags with chemical treatments and modified atmospheres.  There is plenty of discussion online about how it works and why it is of benef

Take the Ugly Food Challenge

Image
In the industrialized world approximately 40% of harvested food never is eaten.  Think about that. The limited resources of water and fertilizer, along with the expensive chemicals that protect plants from pests and pathogens, plus labor, fuel and other inputs... all of that wasted because food is not eaten. My entire life I've been grateful for food.  I've been thankful to have access to so much, and glad to have options that the vast majority of people do not.   A mound of wasted produce, enough to make me soup for life. Wasted nutrition for those who would love access to produce, even if it is slightly imperfect.  It is heartbreaking what we throw away, especially what is discarded at the retail level. A 1995 USDA report say that 5.4 billion pounds of consumable food are added to landfills.  There are many solutions on many levels.  However, change is most likely to occur if solutions are simple and implementable.  Over the years I've made a point to b

An Open Letter to US-RTK

Image
To the right-wing talk show host, a scientist claiming evidence of human-induced climate change is simply running the talking points of George Soros and the anti-oil, liberal media. To the Young Earth Creationist, scientists speaking of evolution are simply reiterating the talking points of the atheist, Darwinist movement. To a Jenny McCarthy anti-vaccination disciple, discussion of immunology and communicable disease simply is the  talking points of Big Pharma. And it follows, that if you honestly answer questions  on agricultural biotechnology that is consistent with the peer-reviewed science, they are simply the talking points of the evil Big Ag.  I've been accused by US-RTK of using  corporate ag "talking points" and it appears to be the principle reason why my integrity is being impeached by US-RTK. I had to go to the dictionary to see how “talking points” is defined.  I figured that was a good place to start since I have been accused of using t

Ketchum and Me

Image
The expressed motivation of the US-RTK blanket of requests for public information is to examine "the PR arm of the agrichemical business".   They targeted public, independent scientists that answered questions for a curious public on the website GMO Answers. GMOanswers.com is a website sponsored by industry.  I've never hid that, never downplayed that.  When I talk about the website in a public talk, I say, "This is a site sponsored by industry where you can find information from experts."   That's what it is. What's my relationship with GMO Answers?  How much am I paid?  What's in it for me?  Who's really pulling the strings?  This is what US-RTK wants to know.  Here are the answers. ***** I like GMOanswers.com because I can help people understand science,  and all of my answers are in one place. How I got connected with GMOanswers.com For 12 years I've answered questions on transgenic technology for concerned public audienc

Silencing Public Scientists

Image
Last week I received a FOIA request that all of my emails bearing certain terms were going to be obtained and turned over to an activist group.  US-RTK, a San Francisco-based activist group, namely Gary Ruskin, wanted to know my ties to Big Ag and their PR arm.   The first thing I did was pick up a phone, call Gary Ruskin, and say, "What can I tell you?" We spoke for 10 minutes, he seems like a decent guy, but what's the deal with assuming that I'm guilty of something before even talking?   I'm not one to do things the hard way, the expensive way.  I'm glad to talk openly about anything.  Those closer to the situation tell me I'm naive, and that US-RTK wants nothing more than to see me removed from the discussion on ag biotech.  In their estimation,  US-RTK does not just want truth, they want words.  They want emails.  It is not about a scientists and what he or she does-- it is how they can make public records into something they are not.  Th

Everyone's a Critic

Image
Over at The GMO Smoking Gun , linguistics Professor Emeritus Derek Bickerton has prepared a response to my criticism of Vani Hari's letter to grad students.  The original letter was a note Hari wrote telling the students studying food and science, that they know nothing about food and science.  I sprang to their defense, deconstructing Hari's scientifically-vacant response.  It was a quick job, a thrown-together effort over a sandwich.  However, the internet spread it quickly, ending up syndicated on Genetic Literacy Project as a "scathing" response to Hari.  Cool.  It got a zillion hits and was picked up in many places, which is nice.  It also raised the interest of Dr. Bickerton, who prepared his response to me, responding to Hari.  To his credit, he did notify me that he prepared a response, which is quite nice of him. He also seems like someone I'd love to have a coffee with and discuss his work.  He studied language on several interesting levels, like

Peer-Reviewed Opinion Does Not Equal Data

Image
The year is 2067. I'm living near a dried-up lake bed in the Northern Wisconsin Desert, popping the cork on a bottle of GMO champagne, and pouring a cool glass in the heat of another January day. It is the eve of my 100th birthday and I'm looking back at the cool stuff that science has done.  The most exciting changes were the way that technology was used to change medicine and food. Medicine integrated comprehensive genomic and gene expression data in treatment, and in farming, all tools were now integrated into producing food for a growing world population.  We had come a long way, especially from the days when starvation and deficiency once claimed many lives, way back in the decade known as the "Denial Teens". It was the time when the Communicable Disease Plagues began, when political leaders ignored warnings of carbon emission, and a time when the most modern and precise genetic improvement techniques were demonized as poison by a small group of well-fed, vocal