Stronger Plants, Stronger Science, and Stronger Communication
I’m actually trying to get some work done today but a friend shared the Times Online article Scientists grow pork meat in a laboratory on Facebook, which immediately made me think of the Better Off Ted episode Heroes, which I happened to watch this weekend. If you have a chance, watch it. Funny stuff. This…
If you’re unsure about something, there is probably a non-profit organization (aka special interest group, aka non-governmental organization) just waiting to tell you what the “facts” are. These organizations all claim to present the most accurate information in their non-peer-reviewed reports, but can we trust them?
Since her husband took office, Mrs. Obama has been setting a wonderful example, encouraging healthy food options like fresh fruits and vegetables. The state dinner at the White House is a beautiful demonstration that food can be healthy as well as fancy! Modern Flourishes at Obamas’ State Dinner in the New York Times leaves me…
As employers desperately try to keep health care costs down, some are turning to unexpected measures, according to Health Care Savings Could Start in the Cafeteria in Sunday’s New York Times. Employers, including some big ones like IBM, have programs that reward their employees for joining a gym or following a preventive health care regimen….
Read More “High Health Care Costs Lead to Healthier Eating?” »
by Cody Cobb Before Thanksgiving break, my plant systematics professor told us that if we handed her a list of the scientific names of every plant species we consumed over the holidays we would get extra credit. I toyed with the idea of simply rewriting a recipe to include the latin names but considered that…
Read More “Non-traditional Comestibles Suitable for Holiday-specific Ingestion” »
Today is Thanksgiving, and I imagine that as everyone in the United States is preparing their turkeys, stuffing, pumpkin pies, baklava (whatever your fancy!), you are thinking about who to thank before you dive in. Mothers, fathers, friends and family, but how about the farmers who grew your veggies and raised the bird? I know…
As a society, we are scared of viruses. They are too small to see, insert themselves into our own cells, and turn our bodies into factories for making more of them. On top of that, they make us feel ill and can be tough to beat. HIV, H1N1, Papaya Ringspot Virus – it’s hard to…
The Organic Center recently released Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years by Dr. Charles Benbrook, agricultural economist and “Chief Scientist” of the Organic Center. I can’t help but get the feeling that Dr. Benbrook started with a conclusion and found data to fit rather than starting with a general…
Read More “Does using GMOs really increase pesticide use?” »
Ever gotten apples from the farmer’s market or grocery store only to have them go bad in the back of your fridge? I know I have. Just a few weeks ago, I got about 20 apples from the CSA. Unfortunately, I can only eat so many per day and they started to go bad before…
When it comes to genetic engineering in agriculture, most of the attention on the web and in films focuses on Monsanto when there are several other big companies (and a lot of little ones) that also work in this area. Reuters has just published a list of the big six, for your perusal: Monsanto Co…