by Steve Savage on 9 January 2013 
Last week, environmentalist Mark Lynas presented an articulate and painfully honest apology for his significant role in starting the anti-GMO movement in the 1990s. He said that it was the most successful campaign in which he has ever been involved, but after finally looking into the science, he now deeply regrets what he and others accomplished. While it is gratifying to have a figure like Lynas make such a turn-about, it does nothing to mitigate the damage of which this anti-science movement has perpetrated on humanity and the environment. Ideally, such a dramatic reversal will induce others in the movement to
by Karl Haro von Mogel on 22 November 2012 
Two convictions and a hefty fine bring a close to a case of Greenpeace destroying a plot of experimental genetically engineered wheat, but whether this will be the last of such incidents is unclear. Last year, Greenpeace planned and executed a public relations campaign to go after genetically engineered wheat being developed by CSIRO in Australia. The wheat was developed to have an altered starch composition, making it slower to digest and release sugars into the body, and thus lower in its glycemic index. The project was headed toward human efficacy testing, having already been evaluated in mice. Greenpeace
by Karl Haro von Mogel on 1 April 2012 I have just heard from a colleague in the UK who works at a government research facility, who gave me some disturbing news. Last night, at least two activists broke into the facility with hazmat suits and a lawn mower. According to eyewitnesses, they were wearing Greenpeace logos on their backs. Almost immediately after they started mowing down crops in the field, scientists working late at the site ran outside to see what was going on, and tried to intervene. A scuffle ensued. Their biggest mistake, however, was leaving behind a video camera that they were using to document the
by Steve Savage on 4 August 2011 (This post originally appeared on Sustainablog on 8/1/11) In the debate about GMO crops, the “threat of genetic contamination” is often raised as a reason to reject the technology. Is this threat real? Does it justify acts of vandalism? Could it lead to the “End of Organics“? Is it actually an over-blown issue? To answer these questions it is necessary to put this issue in the context of basic plant biology. What We Are Talking About Is Really Just “Plant Sex” “Genetic Contamination” is an emotional term which obscures the fact that the underlying biological process in question is quite
Update: See post a week later– Greenpeace destroys Australian wheat trials Last week, blogs and twitter feeds were lit up by news that a group of scientists had written a letter to CSIRO, in Australia, criticizing them for proposing a nutritional trial of genetically engineered wheat. It appeared with this article, Scientists reject human trials of GM Wheat, and is part of a new thrust of transparently poor public relations. And it foreshadows more to come. An excerpt: A group of prominent scientists and researchers from around the world has urged Australia not to go ahead with human trials of
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Counting The Cost of the Anti-GMO Movement
Last week, environmentalist Mark Lynas presented an articulate and painfully honest apology for his significant role in starting the anti-GMO movement in the 1990s. He said that it was the most successful campaign in which he has ever been involved, but after finally looking into the science, he now deeply regrets what he and others accomplished. While it is gratifying to have a figure like Lynas make such a turn-about, it does nothing to mitigate the damage of which this anti-science movement has perpetrated on humanity and the environment. Ideally, such a dramatic reversal will induce others in the movement to
Verdict on Greenpeace’s CSIRO Vandalism
Two convictions and a hefty fine bring a close to a case of Greenpeace destroying a plot of experimental genetically engineered wheat, but whether this will be the last of such incidents is unclear. Last year, Greenpeace planned and executed a public relations campaign to go after genetically engineered wheat being developed by CSIRO in Australia. The wheat was developed to have an altered starch composition, making it slower to digest and release sugars into the body, and thus lower in its glycemic index. The project was headed toward human efficacy testing, having already been evaluated in mice. Greenpeace
Did Greenpeace mow down GM wheat AGAIN? April Fools
I have just heard from a colleague in the UK who works at a government research facility, who gave me some disturbing news. Last night, at least two activists broke into the facility with hazmat suits and a lawn mower. According to eyewitnesses, they were wearing Greenpeace logos on their backs. Almost immediately after they started mowing down crops in the field, scientists working late at the site ran outside to see what was going on, and tried to intervene. A scuffle ensued. Their biggest mistake, however, was leaving behind a video camera that they were using to document the
Genetic Contamination May Not Mean What You Think It Means
(This post originally appeared on Sustainablog on 8/1/11) In the debate about GMO crops, the “threat of genetic contamination” is often raised as a reason to reject the technology. Is this threat real? Does it justify acts of vandalism? Could it lead to the “End of Organics“? Is it actually an over-blown issue? To answer these questions it is necessary to put this issue in the context of basic plant biology. What We Are Talking About Is Really Just “Plant Sex” “Genetic Contamination” is an emotional term which obscures the fact that the underlying biological process in question is quite
Greenpeace goes after Australian Wheat
Update: See post a week later– Greenpeace destroys Australian wheat trials Last week, blogs and twitter feeds were lit up by news that a group of scientists had written a letter to CSIRO, in Australia, criticizing them for proposing a nutritional trial of genetically engineered wheat. It appeared with this article, Scientists reject human trials of GM Wheat, and is part of a new thrust of transparently poor public relations. And it foreshadows more to come. An excerpt: A group of prominent scientists and researchers from around the world has urged Australia not to go ahead with human trials of