Introductions « Biofortified

Is Genetic Engineering Kosher?

by Ariela Haro von Mogel on 21 December 2011

Hi, I’m Ariela. I am studying nutrition sciences (dietetics) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I have a bachelors in sociology from UC Davis, and I am interested in the sociological aspects of people’s lives, especially food and culture. Hanukkah started last night at sundown, and I thought it was particularly relevant to talk about a project I worked on the last academic year.

As part of an Undergraduate Research Scholars program, I gathered research for Professor Jordan Rosenblum. He is interested in how the slow food and local food movements, as well as the biotechnology revolution relate to Kosher Laws. He is working on writing a book about ancient Jewish dietary practices, and the various arguments for or against it. He is a well-versed scholar on the subject of biblical and rabbinical literature. My role was to help him find modern arguments concerning Jewish dietary laws and culture, and how they are interpreted in the 21st century. I have read and analyzed over a dozen books, journal articles and web links to focus on two modern debates concerning Jewish dietary laws. I wanted to find out how Jewish beliefs influence their views on genetic engineering, and whether there was evidence for the modern argument that certain Kosher laws were based on health considerations.

April Fools comes in a shiny box

by Karl Haro von Mogel on 3 April 2011

I don’t know about you, but I had a fun week, and a very fun Friday. Besides all the usual things I get myself into, I decided to make a shiny box for our blog mascot, Frank N. Foode, and pull a little prank on everyone. I conceived of the idea months ago, and this week I had to get it all together in time. I announced on the blog that not only was there a Frank N. Foode doll for sale in stores, but that each box came with genetically engineered seeds for kids to grow. This took a little bit of planning, and had some interesting results. I had two main goals, and the first was to have some fun.

Sunday evening, I sat down and combed the internet for images to use to make a box. I envisioned a 5×4 box a foot tall, with a flap on the back. Bit by bit it came together, and looked something like this:

(Click to zoom in on the picture)

Grad student life is busy, and I didn’t get to printing this out until Thursday afternoon. I actually printed it on poster material, which I thought might be too thin to work, but it worked out nicely. Getting it home unwrinkled was a challenge given my two-wheeled mode of transportation, and a little razor-blade work and careful creasing later, I had a box ready to glue together. The plastic window was actually one of those old term paper covers sliced to fit. To make Frank stand up inside, I had to cut some slits and twist-tie his rear husk in place. My spouses Ariela provided some skillful handwriting to label the seed packets, although it did not show up in the video. (see below) I should also credit Valerie Lusk, Anastasia’s sister, for her Frank N. Foode artwork which made it into two places on the box.

Slight change coming to Biofortified (UPDATE)

by Karl Haro von Mogel on 31 March 2009

Editor’s note: The following post was part of an April Fools Joke. Go here for more details.

Biofortified is sharing server space with several other sites that I manage, and the time has rolled around again to renew the account. It doesn’t sound like much when you divide it by 12 months, but when it comes all at once it is quite the pretty penny.

No worries, though! I have just brokered a deal

Frank N. Foode at Maize Genetics

by Frank N. Foode on 19 March 2009

Hi, Frank N. Foode here. Last week I went on a special trip. I was invited to the 51st annual International Maize Genetics Conference in St. Charles Illinois, an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So many scientists, all working on the genetics of… me! Well me and my brothers and sisters in the great Zea mays family.

My flight was delayed, so I missed the first part of the conference. Luckily someone filled me in on what happened. Apparently I’m 1.4 percent Helitron! Good deal.

I managed to get there just in time for the first viewing session for posters. But three geneticists barred my way saying “Is this guy legit?” I thought they didn’t recognize me, but they were pulling my leg, I was expected!

Introduction

by Anastasia on 19 November 2008

Hello! I’m Anastasia Bodnar, a second year PhD student at Iowa State University. My major is “Interdepartmental Genetics”, an interdisciplinary program that allows me to work in a variety of fields, including plant breeding, biotechnology, and nutrition.

When I’m not in the lab or the field, I write about the science, ethics, politics, economics, etc of genetically modified plants at my blog Genetic Maize. I’m also a contributor at the blog Clashing Cultures where the interactions of science and religion are explored by people from different faiths and different scientific backgrounds. As of now, I’ll also contribute to Biofortified, writing about my favorite topic, plant genetics, and how this field affects the world around us. I’m very exciting to be working with some of my favorite bloggers on this project. I just hope I can find time to do it all!

Genetic engineering is such a complex topic, one that people (both proponents and opponents, scientists and lay people) oversimplify far too often. It is rarely correct to make a blanket statement about “all GMOs”. For example, I think most of us would agree that herbicide resistant crops created by a large corporation are fundamentally different from the flood tolerant rice created by a scientist with public funds and freely distributed to small farmers in developing countries. These two have different ethical, environmental, safety, social justice, and intellectual property issues, just to name a few. It is unfair, unscientific, and possibly unethical to lump together all products produced by genetic engineering. It is also unfair to lump genetic engineering with what is known as conventional agriculture. Some genetically engineered plants might be more suited for large commercial farming, while others are scale neutral and could fit in well with a variety of farming techniques, including organic. I hope that I can elaborate on these ideas through my posts here at Biofortified.

My major professor is Paul Scott, a USDA researcher in ISU’s Agronomy Department. Manju Reddy is our collaborator in ISU’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. I have three main projects that all aim to improve the nutritional qualities of maize. You can read more about the projects after the cut.