Just because something is unpleasant, doesn’t make it good for you. Just because something is comfortable, doesn’t make it bad for you.
Posts under ‘Politics’
India and Bt Brinjal/Eggplant
India decided to delay the approval of insect resistant eggplants, links to various coverage, and how much difference a comma makes.
We got to genetics in class today and the story of the shrunken 2 gene
The origin story of shrunken2, the gene behind much of the sweet corn we eat today. Pictures of the phenotype of CAL mutants in arabidopsis (the gene I mentioned last week for its role in differentiating between broccoli and cauliflower).
School Lunches
In yet another article on the evils of corn syrup, I came across a weird quote:
Because SFUSD has focused on reducing fat and empty calories in cafeteria items, the meals are now very close to the USDA minimums, and are based on a meal which includes either 1-percent white milk or skim chocolate milk. “Replacing [...]
Not 2 + 2 = 5, but close
In which a statistic makes it from a writer, to the new york times, to a greenpeace blog, apparently without anyone noticing that it was mathematically impossible. I’m not exaggerating for effect.
1% of 20 is .2 (not 1.3 nor 1.6)
By The Numbers 12/19/09
Some statistics pulled together from various sources on wheat production, monsanto, lawsuits (not wheat related), and a random moon fact for no particular reason.
How A Piece of Misinformation is Born
How misinformation can be born and spread using an example from a recent post to the greenpeace website about a court ruling regarding Bayer’s Liberty Link rice and how it could/will be misinterpreted
Funding the Good Guys
Some changes are happening for CGAIR (the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research). If you don’t know about CGAIR, they’re definitely the good guys. But don’t take my word for it. How would you classify a non-profit organization that’s been working for close to 40 years to fight hunger and poverty by improving the agricultural [...]
BBC Frontiers on Genetically Engineered Crops
Without realizing it I’d begun to fall into the trap of thinking of European positions on genetically engineered plants mostly as they impact countries in the developing world (European donors funding Greenpeace activity in Thailand, or the threat of losing access to European markets being used to discourage the use of genetically engineered crops in [...]
To Accomplish the Impossible
Here’s an inspirational quote about science:
“It was believed impossible to create a blue rose, since roses lack the gene to produce the color blue. However, a Japanese company spent 14 years in research and finally succeeded in developing the world’s first blue rose. I explained to President Obama how this blue rose, which holds the [...]